Portasar (Göbekli Tepe)

Portasar (Turkish: Göbekli Tepe) is a temple complex in south-eastern Turkey, 8 km north-east of the city of Şanlıurfa. It is the oldest of the world’s large megalithic structures: its age is estimated at up to 12,000 years, and it is dated to at least the 9th millennium BC. The complex consists of round structures numbering up to 20, and some of its pillars are covered with reliefs. For about 9,500 years it lay hidden under a hill about 15 m high and about 300 m in diameter.

Since 1994 excavations have been carried out by the Istanbul branch of the German Archaeological Institute together with the Şanlıurfa Museum, under the direction of Klaus Schmidt.

The photograph shows from above the excavated round structures with stone walls and capped stone pillars, wooden walkways crossing them, and hills and a plain behind.