According to World Atlas, Göbekli Tepe sits on a low limestone ridge in southeastern Turkey, not far from the Syrian border, and continues to unsettle long-held ideas about early human societies. The site was first identified in the 1960s, but its significance only became clear decades later. Radiocarbon dating places its construction between about 9600 and 8200 BCE, far earlier than Stonehenge and long before farming was thought to be established. What remains visible today are rings of large T-shaped pillars carved from local stone, some standing more than five metres tall. Their scale and finish raise quiet but persistent questions about who built them, how they organised themselves, and what drew people to this place so early.
