Northwest excavations at Göbekli Tepe began around 2009, about 200 meters from the main dig. Building H features animal reliefs like a leopard baring teeth 🐆, confirming Klaus Schmidt's hypothesis that special buildings sit in dips. Pillar 66 shows a dying aurochs, echoing a Çatalhöyük image a millennium later.
Northwest excavation area reveals Building H and contemporaneous settlement
Key facts
- Excavations in the northwest area began around 2009, approximately 200 meters from the main excavation area
- Building H is a special building featuring animal depictions on its pillars, including a leopard with exposed teeth
- Hypothesis by Klaus Schmidt confirmed: special buildings occupy dips in the mound while rectangular structures sit on slopes
- Building H entrance is between two parallel standing stones with steps
- Pillar 66 depicts an aurochs in death throes with tongue hanging out, compared to a similar depiction in the Catalhoyuk wall painting over 1,000 years later
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