Göbekli Tepe, Karahan Tepe and many of the Taş Tepeler sites in Southeastern Turkey, are widely known about because of the incredible decorated, and sometimes enormous T-shaped stone pillars.
These megalithic blocks are single pieces of quarried limestone, and have a functional, decorative and symbolic purpose. Since their discovery in the 1990s, they have captured everyone’s imagination, and the amazing thing about Göbekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe is the fact there are unfinished T-pillars still inside the quarries.
I was lucky enough to see the one at Karahan Tepe earlier this year and on my return, I wanted to learn more about the origins of the pillars – the geological formations they came from, and also the ancient techniques used for quarrying.
So, in this video, I’ll be talking about the origins of the T-pillars, taking a closer look at the ones still inside the quarries and sharing all the things I’ve learned about how the ancient people managed to erect these enormous megaliths 10 to 12,000 years ago.
Special thanks to Hugh at Megalithomania for allowing me to use footage in this video. Check out his channel at / @megalithomaniauk
All images/video are either my own, or taken from the below sources for educational purposes only. Please subscribe to Ancient Architects, Like the video, and please leave a comment below. Thank you.
Contents:
0:00 Introduction
0:27 T-Shaped Pillars
5:05 The Geology of Göbekli Tepe
7:20 The Quarries of Göbekli Tepe
8:07 The Unfinished Pillar at Göbekli Tepe
9:33 How Hard is the Stone?
10:33 The Location of the Building Stone
11:28 How to Make a T-Shaped Pillar
14:28 Other Stone Objects in the Quarries
14:44 Terrazzo Mixing in the Quarry
15:48 The Unfinished Pillar at Karahan Tepe
18:17 Karahan Tepe Quarries
19:13 More Taş Tepeler Quarries Discovered
19:56 Why T-Pillars Imply a Roof
21:23 Concluding Remarks
Sources:
Göbekli Tepe: The Forgotten T-Shaped Pillars in the Quarry - Andrew Collins & Hugh Newman: • Göbekli Tepe: The Forgotten T-Shaped ...
How did they do it? Making and moving monoliths at Göbekli Tepe by Oliver Dietrich: www.dainst.blog/the-tepe-telegrams/2016/05/03/how-…
Sie bauten die ersten Tempel : das rätselhafte Heiligtum der Steinzeitjäger : die archäologische Entdeckung am Göbekli Tepe by Schmidt, Klaus: archive.org/details/siebautendieerst0000schm/page/…
Tas Tepeler website: tastepeler.org/
Stones of Göbeklitepe, SE Anatolia, Turkey: an Example of the Shaping
of Cultural Heritage by Local Geology Since the Early Neolithic by Nizamettin Kazancı and Özlem Adıyaman Lopes: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12371-022-00694…
Tepe Telegrams Blog: www.dainst.blog/the-tepe-telegrams/
Göbekli Tepe, Turkey. Preliminary Site Conservation Inspection and First Mortar and Plaster Documentation Report: www.scribd.com/document/506853529/Go-bekli-Tepe-Tu…
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