THE world's oldest temple, Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey, may have been built to worship the dog star, Sirius. The 11,000-year-old site consists of a series of at least 20 circular enclosures, although only a few have been uncovered since excavations began in the mid-1990s. Each one is surrounded by a ring of huge, T-shaped stone pillars, some of which are decorated with carvings of fierce animals.
Ancient blades made of volcanic rock that were discovered at what may be the world's oldest temple suggest that the site in Turkey was the hub of a pilgrimage that attracted a cosmopolitan group of people some 11,000 years ago. The researchers matched up about 130 of the blades, which would have been used as tools, with their source volcanoes, finding people would have come from far and wide to congregate at the ancient temple site, Göbekli Tepe, in southern Turkey. The blades are made of obsidian, a volcanic glass rich with silica, which forms when lava cools quickly. Read more
When I looked at Gobekli Tepe the first thing that I noticed was the 13 pillars with images of animals, reminding me of the 13 ancient zodiac. The 13th zodiac symbol being Ophiuchus/serpent bearer. At Gobekli there is the scorpion, lion, serpent, & i believe a bull also. The ancient 4 cardinal directions are Scorpio/scorpion or bird, Leo/lion, Aquarius/man, Taurus/bull.
Spoiler
Ed ~ It seems unlikely, given that this site probably predates the zodiac and the nature and number of the carved pillars per room, (with probably at least 20 circular features).
Two pillars are at the center of each circle, possibly intended to help support a roof, and up to eight pillars are evenly positioned around the walls of the room. The spaces between the pillars are lined with unworked stone and there are stone benches between each set of pillars around the edges of the wall. Source
However the site may have been a observatory, and probably played some social role in the changeover from hunter-gathers to a domestic way of life.
The reliefs on the pillars include foxes, lions, cattle, hyenas, wild boar, wild asses, herons, ducks, scorpions, ants, spiders, many snakes, and a small number of anthropomorphic figures. Source
And there does not seem to be any significance to the directional position of the carved pillars so we can conclude that the carvings were more than likely shamanistic in nature. The numbers of pillars seems to be purely functional. The bottom line is that it has no connection with the zodiac.
Some 5,200 years ago, in the mountains of western Iran, people may have used takeout windows to get food and weapons, newly presented research suggests. But rather than the greasy hamburgers and fries, it appears the inhabitants of the site ordered up goat, grain and even bullets, among other items. The find was made at Godin Tepe, an archaeological site in the valley of Kangavar in Kermanshah Province. The site was excavated in the 1960s and 1970s by a team led by T. Cuyler Young Jr., a curator at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada, who died in 2006. A team of researchers took up his work after he died and recently published the results of the excavation, along with more recent research on the artifacts, in the book "On the High Road: The History of Godin Tepe." Read more
Danielle Stordeur, an archaeologist at the National Centre for Scientific Research in France, emphasises the significance of the vulture carvings. Some cultures have long believed the high-flying carrion birds transported the flesh of the dead up to the heavens. Stordeur has found similar symbols at sites from the same era as Gobekli Tepe just 50 miles away in Syria. For his part, Schmidt is certain the secret is right beneath his feet. Over the years, his team has found fragments of human bone in the layers of dirt that filled the complex. Deep test pits have shown that the floors of the rings are made of hardened limestone. Schmidt is betting that beneath the floors he'll find the structures' true purpose: a final resting place for a society of hunters. Read more
A 12,000-year-old temple dating from the Neolithic Age has been discovered in the southeastern province of Sanlurfa in what scientists are declaring the oldest place of worship ever discovered. In 1986, a local man known as Uncle Savah discovered a statuette in his small field in Göbeklitepe while tilling the soil. He took the figurine to the Sanlurfa Archaeology Museum where experts determined that it was created between 6000 and 7000 B.C. Read more
Human history is being rewritten in the hills of southern Turkey. The astonishing story it tells not only sheds light on how civilisation evolved, but also sounds a warning. Fifteen years ago a Kurdish shepherd was grazing his sheep across a well-known local landmark - a mound that rose slowly from the otherwise almost featureless plain.