admin Remarkable new discoveries are emerging from the ground in southeastern Turkey, bringing Gobekli Tepe (9,600 BC) and Karahan Tepe (9,400 BC) back into the spotlight. Located just 37 km southeast of Göbekli Tepe, Karahan Tepe is part of the Taş Tepeler (Stone Hills) project. Although excavations began in 2019, the site has been known to archaeologists since 1997.
Karahan Tepe is home to the oldest recorded winter solstice line and covers an area larger than Göbekli Tepe. But it wasn’t until September 2023 that the new enclosure at the top of the hill revealed two remarkable statues, both unique to the site.
The first statue of Karahan Tepe is the world’s first example of a realistic human image. Standing 2.3 meters high, it was discovered broken in half, with the upper part lying on the ground. The legs appear to have been found in situ and originally placed on a sitting bench.
The Karahan Tepe statue has a wide and strong V-neck design, while having lightly carved ribs with a raised square projection between the ribs, with arms stretched out to the sides to hold the surrounding area around the penis.Its style is similar to the Urfa Man (or Balıklıgöl statue) which is 10,300 years old and resembles the Sayburç tablet.
World’s oldest human statue discovered at Karahan Tepe
Karahan Tepe is 11,400 years old, making this discovery the oldest human statue ever found on Earth. The difference between Urfa Man and Karahan Tepe Man lies in the eyes. While the Karahan Tepe statue has clearly carved eyes, the eyes of the Balıklıgöl statue are made of black obsidian.
Another difference between the two is that the Urfa man appears bald, while a notable beard and hairstyle are evident on the Karahan Tepe statue.The hairline also raises some interesting questions as the Karahan Tepe statue appears to have a shaved area above the ears, resembling the Mohican shape, a design found on various Gobekli Tepe statues .
Regarding the Karahan Tepe statue, who is the statue depicted and why is it so big? Because the statue of Karahan Tepe is 2.3 m (7 feet 6 inches) tall, while Urfa Man is only 1.8 m (5 feet 9 inches) tall. Therefore, was the statue the first representation of a giant? Could this be the first detailed human statue of the original Anunnaki from the Sumerian tradition, or the Watcher from the Book of Enoch?
New Karahan Tepe enclosure
Equally interesting is the new Karahan Tepe enclosure, where all these artifacts were found. During a site visit with Andrew Collins and J.J.Ainsworth in September 2023, we were allowed to inspect the partially excavated enclosure and were stunned by what we saw.
On the north wall is a huge circular stone with a hole in the wall between two large T-pillars. Directly below, slightly to the right, is a vulture statue, while to the right, a human statue was originally placed on a stone bench.
Carved stone stele is placed on the ground in front of these Karahan Tepe statues. Vultures have prominent beaks and wings that wrap around the front, demonstrating exquisite dexterity.It is as if all these elements mark an important space inside the enclosure.
What stunned us was that the enclosure appears to be orientated to approximately 20 degrees east of north, based on the position of the porthole stone, which is currently being analyzed by Andrew Collins and Rodney Hale due to its orientation to Deneb and Cygnus. This is especially notable as the vulture motif is linked with this constellation (the vulture is also on Pillar 43 at Göbekli Tepe ). Collins told us:
“Accurate calculations were made on site, and using also Google Earth and the Stellarium sky program. What this shows is that this shows it that the enclosure was aligned at the time of its construction to the rising of the northern opening of the Milky Way’s Dark Rift marked by the stars of Cygnus and in particular the bright star Deneb. The discovery within the enclosure of the standing vulture only emphasizes the Cygnus connection as the bird was the ultimate symbol of birth, death and rebirth among the Pre-Pottery and later Ceramic Neolithic peoples of Anatolia. Plus the stars of Cygnus in the Near East were identified as a vulture, something that is still present today in the star lore of the Armenians where Cygnus is Angegh, the Vulture. Armenians once inhabited this part of southeastern Anatolia.”
When we walked up close to the edge of the excavated area and looked down, we saw two gigantic T-pillars which would have been the central pair, and are estimated to be about 15 feet 7 inches (4.8 m) tall. After talking with some of the archaeologists, they claimed the enclosure could be larger than Structure AD (the main excavated enclosure) which is about 75 feet (23 m) wide.
Fertility Symbols
The symbolism of the giant human statue also closely resembles that of the Sayburç panel, another Taş Tepeler site west of Şanlıurfa. The strong male fertility motifs and the V-neck and ribs are strikingly similar.
This, along with Urfa Man , and other statues of men holding their phallus suggest that male fertility was a theme of the Taş Tepeler culture. This was a subject that may also relate to Structure AB, or the Pillar Shrine at Karahan Tepe. The 10 bedrock-carved pillars are notably phallic, and may be an early form of a “shiva lingam” of Vedic tradition.
Recent Discoveries at Göbekli Tepe
Furthermore, it was announced on the same day that a boar statue has been found in Enclosure D at Göbekli Tepe. Excavation and cleaning the site has taken place there in recent months, yet, like with Karahan Tepe , only a small fraction of the site has so far been excavated.
The boar statue and carvings are located just below the porthole stone in Enclosure D. The boar has pigments of white, red and black paint; whilst serpents, a snake head and an “H” are carved in relief on a recumbent slab, possibly part of a stone bench directly below it.
The boar statue and carvings are located just below the porthole stone in Enclosure D. The boar has pigments of white, red and black paint; whilst serpents, a snake head and an “H” are carved in relief on a recumbent slab, possibly part of a stone bench directly below it.
Prof. Necmi Karul, Head of Gobekli Tepe excavations, was quoted by Anadolu Agency as remarking:
“The difference of this statue is that it is painted. In other words, the tongue and the hair layer on it are painted in their original colors. This makes the work different.”
Furthermore, another porthole stone in Enclosure D has also been uncovered. It appears to be carved through a fallen T-pillar which is placed on its side in the wall.
Overall 12 excavations in the area have been listed as Taş Tepeler sites, a government project to reveal the vast and sophisticated culture that is now thought to have begun around 12,000 years ago, long before civilization was thought to exist.
With the find of the precise winter solstice alignment, and now these stunning new discoveries, the evidence is accumulating to suggest this was the world’s first super civilization, nearly 7,000 years before Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Egypt.
He will be speaking at and launching the book at CPAK, The Conference on Precession and Ancient Knowledge 20-22 October 2023 in the US and at the Origins Conference on 4 November 2023 in Wiltshire, UK. He is also hosting tours to southeast Turkey .
Top image: Selection of the recent discoveries made at Karahan Tepe and Göbekli Tepe in Turkey. Source: Author provided
