Göbekli Tepe is in Turkey. The archaeological site lies in southeastern Turkey near Şanlıurfa and contains monumental stone enclosures built by prehistoric communities.
The oldest parts of Göbekli Tepe date to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, around the 10th millennium BCE. Its T-shaped limestone pillars are decorated with carved images of animals, including foxes, snakes, scorpions, and birds.
The site is important because it shows that large communal monuments were built before fully developed agriculture and permanent village life appeared in the region. Researchers continue to debate how the builders organized labor and used the enclosures.
Göbekli Tepe is sometimes described as the world’s oldest temple, but that label is interpretive rather than a universally agreed designation. Its secure identification is as a major Neolithic archaeological site in modern Turkey.