Scorpion at Göbekli Tepe: Pillar 43

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 43 Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H The 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: A large scorpion is described on the pillar shaft. Of animals and a headless man: Göbekli Tepe, Pillar 43 2016

Interpretations recorded for this object

Scholarly debate

The imagery is best read in relation to death and mortuary practices at Göbekli Tepe; the precise meaning of the signs remains unresolved.

By Excavation team members, including Notroff et al. · More than a vulture: a response to Sweatman and Tsikritsis Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H

Disputed — fringe claim

The animals encode constellations and a comet impact date.

By Sweatman and Tsikritsis · Decoding Göbekli Tepe with archaeoastronomy: What does the fox say?

Open the complete object record

Related glossary term

Scorpion motif — A carved arachnid, commonly identified as a scorpion, appears among the animals on Göbekli Tepe’s Pillar 43. Identification does not settle the scene’s meaning.

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

Sites in these records

Göbekli Tepe

Related Field Log

Sources

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

Of animals and a headless man: Göbekli Tepe, Pillar 43Tepe Telegrams, DAI · 2016 · excavator · retrieved 2026-10-22
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
The role of cult and feasting in the emergence of Neolithic communitiesDietrich et al., Antiquity · 2012 · peer-reviewed · retrieved 2026-10-22
More than a vulture: a response to Sweatman and TsikritsisNotroff et al., Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry · 2017 · peer-reviewed · retrieved 2026-10-22
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
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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