GGöbekli Tepe Visit

OBJECT RECORD · ESTABLISHED · CHECKED 2026-10-22

Snake relief pillars of Enclosure A

Göbekli Tepe · Enclosure A

Wide view across the Göbekli Tepe excavation area.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: Wide view across the Göbekli Tepe excavation area.Photo: Teomancimit, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
Panoramic view across the southern excavation field at Göbekli Tepe.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: Panoramic view across the southern excavation field at Göbekli Tepe.Photo: Creator:Rolfcosar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
Pillar 43, with carved reliefs, in Enclosure D.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: Pillar 43, with carved reliefs, in Enclosure D.Photo: Guérin Nicolas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
T-shaped pillars and wall remains in the excavation area.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: T-shaped pillars and wall remains in the excavation area.Photo: Volker Höhfeld, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
View across the Göbekli Tepe archaeological site.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: View across the Göbekli Tepe archaeological site.Photo: Zhengan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
View across the Göbekli Tepe archaeological site.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: View across the Göbekli Tepe archaeological site.Photo: Zhengan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
A feline predator relief on Pillar 27 at Göbekli Tepe.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: A feline predator relief on Pillar 27 at Göbekli Tepe.Photo: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
A feline relief carved on a Göbekli Tepe pillar.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: A feline relief carved on a Göbekli Tepe pillar.Photo: Guérin Nicolas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
A T-shaped pillar with a carved arm and fox.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: A T-shaped pillar with a carved arm and fox.Photo: Guérin Nicolas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
Excavated Building F on the southwest mound.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: Excavated Building F on the southwest mound.Photo: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
A carved, multi-figure sculpture from Göbekli Tepe displayed in the museum.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: A carved, multi-figure sculpture from Göbekli Tepe displayed in the museum.Photo: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
A museum view of the carved Göbekli Tepe totem-like sculpture.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: A museum view of the carved Göbekli Tepe totem-like sculpture.Photo: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
A carved wild boar figure displayed on a low plinth in the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: A stone animal sculpture from Göbekli Tepe displayed in the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum.Photo: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
A carved wild boar figure displayed on a low plinth in the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: A stone animal sculpture from Göbekli Tepe displayed in the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum.Photo: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
A small animal statuette from Göbekli Tepe in the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: A small animal statuette from Göbekli Tepe in the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum.Photo: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
Stone walls and pillars in the Göbekli Tepe excavation beneath a protective roof.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: Excavated buildings beneath the protective roof at Göbekli Tepe.Photo: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences
Visitors stand behind a railing and look across the stone excavation area.
Site view at Göbekli Tepe: Visitors look across the Göbekli Tepe excavation area.Photo: Philrock, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences

Record

SiteGöbekli Tepe
EnclosureEnclosure A
Location nowIn situ at Göbekli Tepe
DatingPPNA, Layer III

What is carved

Several pillars in Enclosure A carry rows of small snake-like figures in relief. The repeating forms are generally identified as snakes, although the reliefs are worn and some individual figures are difficult to distinguish. [1][2]

Interpretations

Scholarly debate

The snakes are one recurring animal motif in Göbekli Tepe’s pillar imagery; a single fixed meaning is not established. [1][2]

By Excavation publications