The T-Shaped Pillars of Gobekli Tepe

The priests of Çatalhöyük (7000 BC) wore leopard skins.

Alice C. Linsley

There were many sacred high places in the ancient world (9000-2000 BC). These were sacred mountains, rock shelters, fortifications, or towers. High places served by Hebrew priests include Uruk (alt: Erech), Jericho (with its conical tower, c. 8000 BC), Heliopolis on the Nile, Nekhen and Karnak.

Burnt offerings were made at the high places. This is reflected in the association of the term kar with charcoal and soot. The Turkish kara means "black." In Magyar, korom refers to soot, as does the Korean word kurim. In Dravidian, car means "sheltered together" and kari refers to a river. In Manding, kara means "to assemble." Among the Nilotic Luo, kar specifies a place with boundaries. In ancient Sumerian, é-kur refers to a mountain house, a pyramid, or a temple at an elevation above the rest of the city. It is evident that kar refers to a rock sheltered or fortified site with a temple or shrine tended by priests.

Such places are described as “mounds” in the Ancient Pyramid Texts (2400-2000 BC). One of those mounds was Nekhen, the oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship. Archaeological discoveries there have confirmed the presence of Horite and Sethite Hebrew at Nekhen as early as 5100 years ago

High places such as Göbekli Tepe and Çatalhöyük had temples that would have been built under the direction of the "Mighty Men of Old" (Gen. 6:4) or what I call "The First Lords of the Earth" in my book. Such rulers were served by priests and skilled stone masons. The T shape can be found among many ancient sites and in many languages, the T speaks of the High God who is represented by the sun which appears to arc from east to west. The oldest known name for the High God in China was Tian. In Mongolian the High God's name is Tengri, a reference to the sky, which is Tenger in Mongolian. In Ancient Akkadian a high place is called Tillu.

Göbekli Tepe predates the oldest known temple to have been built by Abraham's Hebrew ancestors at Nekhen by about 3000 years. It is the oldest known temple, and it remains shrouded in mystery.

Göbekli Tepe is classified as a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site (PPN). It is designated PPNA (ca 10,500 to 9,500 BC) which puts it in the same class as Jericho, Netiv Hagdud, Nahul Oren, Gesher, Dhar', Jerf al Ahmar, Chogha Golan and Abu Hureyra.

Göbekli Tepe is located in what is today Turkey. This "land between the rivers" was an ancient crossroads for peoples migrating between Africa and Southern Europe.

Each of the circular enclosures at Göbekli Tepe consists of 10 to 12 massive stone pillars surrounding two larger monoliths positioned in the middle of the structure.

"The Göbekli Tepe ruins and enclosures—the earliest monumental ritual sites of Neolithic religion and possibly the oldest religion in the world—are causing experts to rethink the origins of religion and human civilization." (Read more here.)

Göbekli Tepe human and animal figures
National Geographic

Perhaps the animals represent clan totems similar to that of the Horite and Sethite Hebrew clans. This paper explores that interesting theory.

Totems can be used by anthropologists to trace ancestry, clan affiliations, and marriage ties. Most totems of biblical clans are representations of animals. To understand their symbolism, we must place these animals in their natural habitats of Africa, Anatolia, and the Arabian Peninsula. Animal totems are evident in the names of the Horite Hebrew listed in Genesis 36. These include Zibeon (hyena), 

who was the father of Anah (wild donkey), and Aiah (kite); Dishan (gazelle), who was the father of Aran (wild goat); and Akan (roe), who was the son of Ezer. Other Horite Hebrew names are Cheran (lamb) and Shobal (young lion). Such a large number of animal names among the Horite Hebrew suggests a totemic clan organization.

The vulture, scorpion, horse and lion are found on the stone pillars, and they appear to correspond to constellations at a time when Thuban was the pole star. These creatures are commonly found on African images, which suggests that the structure at Göbekli Tepe may have been influenced by priests whose origins were in Africa. The vulture is an important totem among the ancient Nubians.

It is thought that the Hittites introduced iron work to Anatolia, but the term "Hittite" is an anachronism when we speak of populations as early as 7000 BC. Hittite is derived from the root HT which is the Hebrew and Arabic root for copper - nahas-het. Nahash means serpent. As an adjective it means shining bright, like burnished copper. The clans of HT were Bronze Age copper smiths who ranged from Timna to Anatolia. Their totem was the burnished serpent, just as it was for the Hebrew ruler Moses.

Archaeologists and anthropologists hope to unravel the mystery surrounding the T-shaped monoliths that stand at the perimeter of the sacred mounds at Göbekli Tepe. The pattern resembles Stonehedge with rings of pillars. At the center are twin pillars. The twin pillars and most of the pillars at the periphery are carved to form bas-reliefs of various animals, anthropomorphic figures, and human-animal creatures.

T-shaped pillar

The earliest pillars are the biggest and most sophisticated in construction and artistry. The later pillars are smaller, less intricate in design and mounted with less precision.

Nate Ramsayer has made a case for the view that the stone pillars might represent individual people. As he states, "This interpretation fits well with the emerging concept of social stratification that can be seen in Anatolia during the PPN at sites like Çayönü and Neval Çori."

If the T-shaped pillars represent humans, they were probably rulers, high ranked priests, or the heads of clans. It may be that clan leaders intended to have stone pillars with the clan's animal totem as a display of wealth or power. Or it may be that the 16-ton limestone pillars represent deified rulers who were venerated as ancestors. Each pillar served as the ruler's presence by which he also represented his clan, before the deity.

The T shape appears to be a very ancient symbol that represented a complex of ideas including heaven, the High God, sacred high places, and high-ranking rulers. These come together in the Tyet symbol of the Old Kingdom (shown above). It consists of a solar orb above a human form and is a variation of the ankh. Here the symbol appears above the waters or firmament. An image of Hathor is seen at the right.

Mystery surrounds how the huge pillars were transported from the quarry. Were hundreds of beasts of burden used? If so, why do these animals not appear on the carvings? The animals carved on the pillars include bulls, cranes, ostriches, vultures, lions, serpents and crocodiles. All these animals were of symbolic significance to populations of the Fertile Crescent.

Another mystery surrounds the twin pillars at the center of the shrine. They are superior in quality to the perimeter stones. Tatiana V. Kornienko ("Cult Buildings of Northern Mesopotamia") sees the placement of pairs of stones as an important aspect of early cosmology:

The worship of pairs of central objects in ancient sanctuaries or temples is a characteristic feature of a number of early Near Eastern cultures. Such symbolism represents the binary basis and dualism of people’s mythological perception of natural phenomena.

(Note that Kornienko fails to make a distinction between the binary and dualistic worldviews, a distinction that needs to be clarified to correctly trace origins and antecedents.)


Related reading: The Hittites of Anatolia; The Ostrich in Biblical Symbolism; Megalithic Totemism of the Individual: A new Analysis of Gobekli Tepe's Monumental Pillars; Ethics and Religious Practices of the Afro-Asiatics; The Trapezoid on Ancient Architecture and Technology; Neolithic Bread at Catal Hoyuk - Biblical Archaeology Society