REFERENCE · 30 TERMS · CHECKED 2026-10-22
Glossary of Göbekli Tepe terms
A field glossary for the architecture, carved forms and period names used across the Taş Tepeler record.
A
- Anthropomorphic pillar
A pillar shaped or carved to evoke a human body. Arms, hands, belts and clothing details can make the human reference explicit, but a pillar’s symbolic role is not known from its form alone.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025Relationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli Tepe 2025
- Aurochs motif
The aurochs was a wild bovine, now extinct. Carvings of large wild cattle occur at Göbekli Tepe and Sayburç; labels describe the depicted animal rather than a known symbolic code.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025The Sayburç reliefs: a narrative scene from the Neolithic 2022Relationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli Tepe 2025
B
- Backfilling debate
A long-standing discussion about how Göbekli Tepe’s buildings and deposits became filled. Some deposits include deliberately placed material, but collapse, rebuilding, slope processes and later activity complicate a simple “ritual burial” explanation.
Sources: How old is it? Dating Göbekli Tepe retrieved 2026-10-22Built on Rock – Towards a Reconstruction of the ‘Neolithic’ Topography of Göbekli Tepe 2024Paradise Found or Common Sense Lost? Göbekli Tepe’s Last Decade as a Pre-Farming Cult Centre 2023
- Bench
A low stone or plastered ledge built along an interior wall. At Nevalı Çori and other sites, sculpture and pillars were found set into or placed on benches; that context does not by itself establish their function.
Sources: The passage of matter: Transformations of objects and ritual meanings in the Neolithic of the Near East 2013Karahantepe (site page; text by Necmi Karul) retrieved 2026-10-22
C
- Central pillars
The large paired pillars set within the interior of several Göbekli Tepe enclosures, surrounded by smaller pillars and a wall. Some carry arms, hands, belts or animal reliefs.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025Relationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli Tepe 2025
- Crane motif
A long-legged bird is identified as a crane on a Göbekli Tepe pillar. Bird species identifications rely on the carved form and can remain uncertain.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025Relationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli Tepe 2025
E
- Enclosure
A named Neolithic building at Göbekli Tepe, usually formed by a circular or oval plan, stone walls and T-shaped pillars. Letters A, B, C and D are modern excavation designations.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research 2016
- Enclosure A
One of Göbekli Tepe’s early monumental buildings. It is especially known for Pillar 1’s net-like arrangement of snakes above a figure identified as a ram; other pillars carry additional animal reliefs.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research 2016How old is it? Dating Göbekli Tepe retrieved 2026-10-22
- Enclosure B
A Göbekli Tepe enclosure with a pair of large central pillars and smaller pillars around the interior wall. A fox relief on Pillar 9 is among its best-known carvings.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025Relationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli Tepe 2025
- Enclosure C
A large Göbekli Tepe enclosure with multiple concentric wall phases. Its decorated pillars include a boar-and-bird scene and the three-dimensional predator relief on Pillar 27.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025Relationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli Tepe 2025
- Enclosure D
A major Göbekli Tepe building known for its paired human-form central pillars and Pillar 43, the richly carved “Vulture Stone.” The animal and sign meanings remain debated.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research 2016Relationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli Tepe 2025
F
- Fox motif
Foxes recur in relief and sculpture at Göbekli Tepe and other Taş Tepeler sites. The image is identifiable in several cases; a single symbolic meaning is not established.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025Relationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli Tepe 2025
H
- 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 H 2025Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research 2016
- High relief
Carving that projects strongly from its background surface, leaving much of the figure modeled in depth. The paired Sefertepe faces contrast a high-relief face with one barely raised.
Sources: Sefertepe'deki sanatsal farklılık, yaklaşık 10 bin yıllık insan yüzü kabartmalarıyla ortaya çıktı 2025Bakan Ersoy Yeni Keşifleri Tanıttı 2025
L
- Lateral pillars
Smaller T-shaped pillars placed around the perimeter of a building, often against or within the wall and bench. Their exact structural and symbolic roles vary by building.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research 2016
- Layer III and Layer II
Excavation labels for broad occupation deposits at Göbekli Tepe. Layer III contains the older monumental buildings; Layer II includes later, generally smaller rectangular buildings. Layer labels do not by themselves date each structure or every fill deposit.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research 2016How old is it? Dating Göbekli Tepe retrieved 2026-10-22Built on Rock – Towards a Reconstruction of the ‘Neolithic’ Topography of Göbekli Tepe 2024Paradise Found or Common Sense Lost? Göbekli Tepe’s Last Decade as a Pre-Farming Cult Centre 2023
- Leopard motif
Leopards appear as reliefs and three-dimensional figures at several Taş Tepeler sites. Composite human–leopard sculptures show different arrangements; their meanings are not settled.
Sources: Relationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli Tepe 2025Şanlıurfa Müzesi Arkeolojik Eser Kataloğu 2021Neolithic Turkish site of Karahantepe named among top 10 archaeological discoveries of 2025 2025
- Low relief
Carving that rises only slightly above the surrounding surface. “Low relief” describes depth, not the meaning or importance of a figure.
Sources: Sefertepe'deki sanatsal farklılık, yaklaşık 10 bin yıllık insan yüzü kabartmalarıyla ortaya çıktı 2025Bakan Ersoy Yeni Keşifleri Tanıttı 2025
N
- Nevalı Çori
A Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement on the middle Euphrates, excavated before the Atatürk Dam reservoir inundated the site. Its buildings, T-pillars and stone sculpture are now studied through excavation records and museum collections.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research 2016The passage of matter: Transformations of objects and ritual meanings in the Neolithic of the Near East 2013A Queer Feminist Perspective on the Early Neolithic Urfa Region: The Ecstatic Agency of the Phallus 2025
P
- Porthole stone
A worked stone slab with a circular opening. Such stones occur in Neolithic architecture; the opening’s role must be assessed from its particular building context.
Sources: Karahantepe (site page; text by Necmi Karul) retrieved 2026-10-22Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025
- PPNA
Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, an archaeological period before pottery was commonly used. In the Upper Mesopotamian sequence used here, its approximate span is c. 9750–8650 BCE; boundaries vary by region and chronology.
Sources: Upper Mesopotamian Neolithic period ranges cited in the Harbetsuvan prospection study 2026
- PPNB
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, a regional archaeological period in which stone-built rectangular architecture and varied sculpture are well represented. The Upper Mesopotamian subdivisions and dates used here are approximate and do not apply uniformly across the Near East.
Sources: Upper Mesopotamian Neolithic period ranges cited in the Harbetsuvan prospection study 2026The passage of matter: Transformations of objects and ritual meanings in the Neolithic of the Near East 2013
S
- 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 2025Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research 2016
- Snake motif
A common carved animal motif at Göbekli Tepe and Nevalı Çori. Snake forms can be described by position and shape; their symbolic meanings remain open to debate.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025Relationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli Tepe 2025The passage of matter: Transformations of objects and ritual meanings in the Neolithic of the Near East 2013
T
- T-pillar
A freestanding or wall-set stone with a broad horizontal cap above a narrower shaft. At Göbekli Tepe, projecting arms and hands show that many were carved as highly abstract human figures.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research 2016
- Taş Tepeler
“Stone Mounds”: a regional research project focused on Neolithic sites around Şanlıurfa, including Göbekli Tepe, Karahan Tepe, Sayburç, Sefertepe and other nearby settlements.
Sources: Türkiye illuminates its Neolithic Heritage with TAŞ TEPELER 2021Göbeklitepe (site page) retrieved 2026-10-22
- Terrazzo floor
A smooth floor made by applying and finishing a lime-rich mortar, sometimes with ground stone or aggregate. A notable example comes from Nevalı Çori’s cult building.
Sources: The passage of matter: Transformations of objects and ritual meanings in the Neolithic of the Near East 2013A Queer Feminist Perspective on the Early Neolithic Urfa Region: The Ecstatic Agency of the Phallus 2025
U
- Urfa Man
A nearly life-size limestone human statue found during construction work in Şanlıurfa’s Yeni Mahalle in 1993. Its present display is in the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum; its original purpose is unknown.
Sources: Şanlıurfa İli Neolitik Dönem Yüzey Araştırması Sonucunda Ortaya Çıkan Yeni Bilgi ve Bulgular retrieved 2026-10-22Şanlıurfa Müzesi Arkeolojik Eser Kataloğu 2021Şanlıurfa Arkeoloji Müzesi retrieved 2026-10-22
V
- 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 H 2025Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research 2016Relationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli Tepe 2025
W
- Wild boar motif
Wild boars appear on carved pillars and in sculpture, including the painted Göbekli Tepe statue and imagery associated with Enclosure C. Motifs do not provide a decoded narrative on their own.
Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025Relationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli Tepe 2025Tarihin Sıfır Noktasında İlk Boyalı Heykel Bulundu 2023
Continue reading: Pillars and finds · Chronology · Taş Tepeler map · Plan a visit
The Göbekli Tepe Visit Dispatch
One email a month. Only what changed.