Göbekli Tepe began c. 9,600 BC; a video links a 9,000 BC artifact to early writing

January 29, 2026TürkiyeArtifactShare

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Key facts

• Göbekli Tepe's earliest occupation and monumental enclosures date to roughly 9,600–9,500 BC, before widespread farming, cities and cuneiform.
• Some T-shaped pillars stand more than 5 metres high and weigh over 10 tonnes; they were arranged in organized circular enclosures bearing animal reliefs and abstract signs.
• A small green stone object with an incised flat face, commonly treated as seal-like and assigned to around 9,000 BC, bears signs that the video compares with hieroglyphs.
• The video argues that these signs represent early pictographic writing. Archaeologists have not established that interpretation as a writing system.
• The scale of the complex supports coordinated labor and long-term planning, while its symbols demonstrate symbolic behavior whose exact meaning remains unresolved.
• Less than 5% of the site has been excavated, not 10%.

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