GGöbekli Tepe Visit

MOTIF RECORD · 2 OBJECT RECORDS · CHECKED 2026-10-22

H-shaped symbols at Göbekli Tepe

H-shaped signs are described on Pillar 43 and on a bench associated with the painted boar statue; the associated bench is distinguished from the statue itself.

Interpretive note: Descriptions retain the wording and uncertainty of the cited sources; a motif tag records a described depiction, not an agreed meaning. Sources: Of animals and a headless man: Göbekli Tepe, Pillar 43 2016Tarihin Sıfır Noktasında İlk Boyalı Heykel Bulundu 2023

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Göbekli Tepe · pillar · CHECKED 2026-10-22

Pillar 43 (Vulture Stone)

Enclosure D · PPNA, Layer III; Enclosure D belongs to the early monumental phase

Record sources: Of animals and a headless man: Göbekli Tepe, Pillar 43Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and HThe role of cult and feasting in the emergence of Neolithic communities

Broad stone face of Pillar 43 with animal reliefs and geometric carvings, surrounded by excavated masonry.
Pillar 43 (Vulture Stone): Pillar 43, with carved reliefs, in Enclosure D.Photo: Guérin Nicolas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences

Depiction in cited source: Two H-shaped signs are described beside the bird scene. Of animals and a headless man: Göbekli Tepe, Pillar 43 2016

Interpretations recorded for this object

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Göbekli Tepe · statue · CHECKED 2026-10-22

Painted wild boar statue

Structure D (excavation context) · PPNB, c. 9th millennium BC (reported by excavators)

Record sources: First painted statue discovered at GöbeklitepePainted boar sculpture from Göbekli TepeŞanlıurfa Archaeology Museum (visitor and collection page)

Painted wild boar statue
No licensed photograph of this object is in the image register.

Depiction in cited source: The associated bench is described as bearing an H-shaped sign. Tarihin Sıfır Noktasında İlk Boyalı Heykel Bulundu 2023

Identification note: The sign is on the bench associated with the statue, not on the boar figure.

Interpretations recorded for this object

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Related glossary term

H-symbol — A geometric sign resembling the letter H appears on some Göbekli Tepe pillars. “H” is a visual label; no agreed translation or meaning is known.

Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and HGöbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research

Sites in these records

Related Field Log

Sources

Source wording is attached to individual records above. The register includes sources used for depiction evidence and attributed interpretations.

  1. Of animals and a headless man: Göbekli Tepe, Pillar 43Tepe Telegrams, DAI · 2016 · excavator · retrieved 2026-10-22
  2. First painted statue discovered at GöbeklitepeMinistry of Culture and Tourism · 2023 · official · retrieved 2026-10-22
  3. Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and HGerman Archaeological Institute / Reichert Verlag · 2025 · scholarly-monograph · retrieved 2026-10-22
  4. The role of cult and feasting in the emergence of Neolithic communitiesDietrich et al., Antiquity · 2012 · peer-reviewed · retrieved 2026-10-22
  5. More than a vulture: a response to Sweatman and TsikritsisNotroff et al., Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry · 2017 · peer-reviewed · retrieved 2026-10-22
  6. Decoding Göbekli Tepe with archaeoastronomy: What does the fox say?Martin B. Sweatman and Dimitrios Tsikritsis, Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry · 2017 · peer-reviewed · retrieved 2026-10-22
  7. Painted boar sculpture from Göbekli TepeTepe Telegrams, DAI · 2023 · excavator · retrieved 2026-10-22
  8. Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum (visitor and collection page)Ministry of Culture and Tourism · official · retrieved 2026-10-22
  9. Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of ResearchOliver Dietrich, German Archaeological Institute / Tepe Telegrams · 2016 · official-project-history · retrieved 2026-10-22

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