GGöbekli Tepe Visit

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

Vultures at Göbekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe

A large bird on Pillar 43 is described as a vulture; a vulture is also named among figures reported in a Karahan Tepe nested vessel.

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 2016‘The Earliest 3D Story’: Necmi Karul on Karahantepe’s Latest Discoveries 2025

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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: The dominant large bird is described as a vulture. Of animals and a headless man: Göbekli Tepe, Pillar 43 2016

Interpretations recorded for this object

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Karahan Tepe · object · CHECKED 2026-10-22

Nested stone vessel with fox, vulture and wild boar figures

Recovered in a nested vessel assemblage; context reported from excavations but awaiting full excavation publication. · Neolithic; an object-specific calibrated date has not been published.

Record sources: ‘The Earliest 3D Story’: Necmi Karul on Karahantepe’s Latest DiscoveriesTop 10 Discoveries of 2025: Tales from the Neolithic

Nested stone vessel with fox, vulture and wild boar figures
No licensed photograph of this object is in the image register.

Depiction in cited source: The vessel figures are identified by excavation director Necmi Karul as including a vulture. ‘The Earliest 3D Story’: Necmi Karul on Karahantepe’s Latest Discoveries 2025

Interpretations recorded for this object

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Related glossary term

Vulture motif — A large bird commonly identified as a vulture appears on Pillar 43 in Enclosure D and in other Neolithic sculpture. The species identification and scene meanings can be debated.

Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and HGöbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of ResearchRelationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli Tepe

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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. ‘The Earliest 3D Story’: Necmi Karul on Karahantepe’s Latest DiscoveriesTheCollector, interview with Necmi Karul · 2025 · field-interview · 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. Top 10 Discoveries of 2025: Tales from the NeolithicArchaeology Magazine · 2026 · archaeology-reporting · retrieved 2026-10-22
  8. Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of ResearchOliver Dietrich, German Archaeological Institute / Tepe Telegrams · 2016 · official-project-history · retrieved 2026-10-22
  9. Relationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli TepeE. D. Yurttaş, Cambridge Archaeological Journal · 2025 · peer-reviewed · retrieved 2026-10-22

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