Built Community: ticket to the exhibition at the James-Simon-Galerie

Visit the special exhibition "Built Community: Göbeklitepe, Taş Tepeler and Life 12,000 years ago" from 6 February to 26 July 2026 at the James-Simon-Galerie on Berlin’s Museum Island. Book your ticket online now and save time. Valid immediately as a smartphone voucher.

The major special exhibition from 6 February to 26 July 2026 at the James-Simon-Galerie on Museum Island

Around 12,000 years ago, hunter-gatherer groups built impressive monumental structures in what is now Türkiye. To this day, archaeologists are working to uncover the meaning behind these extraordinary buildings and artworks. In collaboration with Türkiye, these spectacular archaeological finds from Göbeklitepe and other excavation sites are now being presented in a special exhibition on Berlin’s Museum Island.

Your ticket to the exhibition “Built Community: Göbeklitepe, Taş Tepeler and Life 12,000 years ago” at the James-Simon-Galerie

✓ Special exhibition from 6 February to 26 July 2026 at the James-Simon-Galerie
✓ Fascinating exhibits: carvings, artworks, sculptures and more
✓ Ticket valid as a smartphone voucher – no printout required

Life 12,000 years ago – a remarkable collection

Massive sculptures, monumental buildings and intricately carved T-shaped pillars – some up to six metres high and depicting stylised human figures – open a window into a world full of symbols and imagery. These artworks were created at a time when hunter-gatherer communities were beginning to transition into a more settled way of life. Who created these masterpieces – and what messages do they carry?

Tracing the first settled communities

Long before Stonehenge or the first pyramids were built, the earliest settled communities in the province of Şanlıurfa in southeastern Türkiye constructed unique monumental buildings with striking larger-than-life depictions, carvings and structures. Göbeklitepe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2018, along with other nearby sites, bears witness to this extraordinary architectural achievement.