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Göbeklitepe, Taş Tepeler and life 12,000 years ago
This special exhibition at the Museum of the Ancient Near East focuses on art and sculptures from the first settled cultures. Twelve thousand years ago, people in what is now Türkiye erected monumental stone structures and populated them with spectacular stone sculptures. The exhibition presents the sculptures, many of which are being shown abroad for the first time, together with architectural reconstructions, media and photos by Spanish photo artist Isabel Muñoz.
Image gallery
Luftbild von Karahantepe
Steingefäße, Platten und Klopfsteine in Fundlage in einem Küchenbereich in Karahantepe, 9400 – 8000 v. Chr.
Menschenkopf aus Karahantepe, 9400 – 8000 v. Chr. (Detail)
To this day, archaeologists are busy deciphering the fascinating buildings and works of art from the world of hunter-gatherers at the transition to sedentary life. In cooperation with Türkiye, spectacular archaeological finds from Göbeklitepe and other sites in the surrounding area are now being brought to Museum Island in Berlin.
Who created these fascinating images and symbols, and what do they mean?
Long before Stonehenge was erected or the first pyramids were built, the first settled communities in the province of Şanlıurfa in south-eastern Türkiye created unique monumental buildings with fantastic larger-than-life images. These have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2018.
The enormous structures and artistic expression are to be understood as the work of communities that formed with the beginning of sedentarisation. Cohesion was an important factor in the life of the groups and their resilience under changing conditions.
Since 2020, spectacular discoveries by the international Taş Tepeler research project in places such as Karahantepe, Sayburç and Çakmaktepe have painted a comprehensive picture of this revolutionary era.
The exhibition in the James Simon Gallery displays sculptures, everyday objects and jewellery that tell the story of how people lived together during this period of upheaval in human history.
Archaeological finds and architectural reconstructions are complemented by contemporary photographic interpretations by Spanish photo artist Isabel Muñoz, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in life at the transition from hunter-gatherer cultures to sedentary life.
"Built Community. Göbeklitepe, Taş Tepeler and Life 12,000 Years Ago‘ was developed by a team led by Barbara Helwing, Museum of the Ancient Near East, and Necmi Karul, Istanbul University, and is a collaboration between the Museum of the Ancient Near East, the Şanlıurfa Archaeological Museum and the ’Taş Tepeler" research project at Istanbul University, with the participation of the German Archaeological Institute. Most of the archaeological objects from the Şanlıurfa Museum are being shown abroad for the first time.
- A special exhibition by the Museum of the Ancient Near East of the National Museums in Berlin in collaboration with the Şanlıurfa Archaeological Museum and Istanbul University
- The exhibition is made possible with funding from the German Foundation Klassenlotterie, the Board of Trustees of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, the Friends of Antiquity on Museum Island e.V. and the SPK's own funds.
- An illustrated companion volume to the exhibition will be available in German, Turkish and English editions.
