World of travel
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10.11.17 14:19
Buildings - man-made structures for protection, prayer, lodging, gatherings, living, or any other use - were built long before the advent of our era. And, looking at the oldest buildings (or well-preserved picturesque ruins), one can only wonder how people created these masterpieces without having any modern technologies, no machines, no tools. The age of the oldest buildings in the world is estimated at several thousand years, and they - at least that! Shall we look at them?
They are from 3250 to 6800 years old: the oldest buildings on the planet
Treasury of Atreus: monument of Mycenaean Greece
The tomb, which is called the Treasury of Atreus, was built during the Bronze Age, around 1250 BC (over 3250 years ago). And this is only the first member of our top, so the oldest buildings on the planet should be called very ancient! Before the completion of the Pantheon, this tomb was famous for the highest and widest dome in the world. The monumental building and the surrounding area is one of the most impressive monuments left from the era of Mycenaean Greece.
Palace of Knossos: home of the Cretan Minotaur
Palace of Knossos (fallen into disrepair ancient city in Crete) was ceremonial and political center Minoan civilization. The palace was excavated and partially restored under the direction of Arthur Evans in the early 20th century (although attempts were made in the 1870s). It is believed that the very first palace in Knossos was built in 2000-1700 BC. It was destroyed by an earthquake, and a new, even more powerful and beautiful building was built in 1700 BC. In the XVI century BC. e. the palace was damaged by a volcanic eruption, and after about another half a century, a fire completed this dirty deed. Myths connect the main building of Knossos with Daedalus and his legendary labyrinth, which was guarded by the Minotaur.
Great Pyramid: the tomb of Cheops
The oldest buildings in the world include Pyramids of Egypt, because this is not just a decorative building, there are cameras and corridors inside. great pyramid The Egyptian city of Giza (other names are the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids of this necropolis. Despite the fact that among the Seven Wonders of the World it was she who was the oldest, the pyramid is the only one that has survived intact to this day. Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was built as a tomb for the fourth dynasty pharaoh Khufu. The construction took about 10-20 years, and construction was completed around 2560 BC. The top of the pyramid was originally located at 146.5 meters above sea level, so the Great Pyramid remained the highest man-made structure in the world for more than 3800 years.
Pyramid of Djoser built by Imhotep
Another pyramid of Egypt, bearing the name of Djoser (or the Step Pyramid), is located in the Saqqara necropolis and consists of six mastabas laid on top of each other. It was founded in the 27th century BC (approximately 2650 BC) for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser, the architect was his vizier (chati) Imhotep (not to be confused with the villain-priest Imhotep from the Mummy franchise). The pyramid is older than its "sisters" from Giza and is the first Egyptian pyramid. Initially, the pyramid of Djoser, “dressed” in polished white limestone, towered 62 meters, and its foundation was 109 x 125 meters in area. The step pyramid is considered the oldest large-scale stone structure.
Tarxien complex: a treasure of Malta
Malta is known for its impressive temples, which are great for our top oldest buildings. So, the “venerable age” is distinguished by the archaeological complex in Tarxien, dating back to approximately 3150 BC (“sunset” of the megalith). In 1980, this ensemble became the object of world heritage UNESCO. Tarxien consists of three separate but connected temple structures. The main entrance is a reconstruction of 1956 (when the entire site was being restored). At the same time, many of the ornate tiles found at the site were moved to the Valletta Museum of Archaeology.
Newgrage: the oldest in Ireland
5100 years ago (about 3200 BC) the oldest building in Ireland appeared. It's up historical monument Newgrage, built during the Neolithic period. It is older than the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge. The building consists of a large round mound-roof and internal stone passages and chambers. It is believed that the Scottish landmark has a religious significance, but scientists have not come to a consensus on what the building was built for. Human bones were found in his small rooms - perhaps Newgrage served as a place for offering sacrifices (or a tomb was built here). Now it is one of the most important megalithic structures Europe.
La Hoog Bee: A Curiosity on the Island of Jersey
The name of the next oldest building is perceived as something Asian - La Hougue Bie. However, it is located in the parish of Grouville on the island of Jersey (UK). The building dates back to 3500 BC, now it is a historical monument with a museum. This is an 18.6-meter walk-through chamber, covered with an earth embankment 12.2 meters high. La Hug Bi was discovered only in 1925. During World War II, this structure was an important strategic observation point; an underground command bunker was set up in the adjacent embankment.
Knap of Howar: part of a Neolithic homestead in Scotland
The oldest stone building in Scotland is called Knap of Howar. It is believed that it was part of a Neolithic manor. Radiocarbon analysis showed that the house was built from 3700 BC to 3100 BC (or 5500 years ago). The building, consisting of two rooms, has been perfectly preserved: 1.6-meter walls, shelves for things, stoves, beds. Ancient farmers cultivated wheat and barley, kept pigs and sheep, and fished. This was evidenced by the debris found by archaeologists near the buildings and in them.
Ggantija: tower of the giants in Gozo
We have already mentioned the megalithic temples of Malta, but Tarshien is not the oldest building in the archipelago. Religious buildings on the island of Gozo are even older - the structures of Ggantiy were erected around 3600 BC. The name translates as "Tower of the Giants". This and other Neolithic buildings of the country are protected by UNESCO (under the general name "Megalithic Temples of Malta"). Ggantija consists of an older South Temple and a North Temple (they stand side by side on the Shaara Plateau). The start of large-scale excavations falls on the year 1827, then the area was in private hands, which negatively affected the buildings. In 1933, Ggantija passed to the government of Malta, and the temples have already been restored and studied five times.
Bugon Necropolis: French sensation
The Bugon Necropolis (France) is a group of five Neolithic mounds (they are called Tumulus A, B, C, D, E, F). The oldest building in the world got its name in honor of the Bugon River, near which it is located. Scientists believe that Tumulus began to build around 4800 BC. The opening of the necropolis in 1840 made a splash in scientific world. To protect the monuments, they were bought (in 1873) by the Department of Deux-Sèvres (New Aquitaine region). Archaeological excavations started in the 1960s, at the same time, dishes and household items were found in the chambers. jewelry, human remains, tools.
Buildings of the same age as the capital have not been preserved: most of the buildings of that time were wooden, and enemy raids, fires and just the passage of time led to the fact that the capital was rebuilt more than once, changing beyond recognition. And yet in Moscow there are buildings that have survived many centuries.
— oldest building Moscow. According to the chronicles, the first wooden building of the temple was erected simultaneously with other buildings of the monastery, in 1357, but as a result of a fire in 1368 it burned down. In its place, a new stone cathedral was built, which sixty years later, between 1420 and 1425, was rebuilt and has survived to this day in this form. Participated in the painting of the temple Andrey Rublev And Daniel Cherny, however, only the ornamental painting on the jambs of the altar windows has been preserved from their work. The decoration of the cathedral has changed a lot more than once. According to the inventory of 1763, there was a porch with a sacristy chamber, from which nothing remains today, and in 1812 Archimandrite Feofan reported on the significant destruction caused by the retreating Napoleonic army. The French robbed the cathedral, lit the iconostasis, which is why "the vaults with the head fell inside the temple ...". In 1934, the entire Spaso-Andronnikov Monastery was planned to be demolished, but for various reasons this did not happen. In many ways, his salvation was facilitated by the work on the cathedral published in 1940 by the Academy of Architecture, after which the significance of the temple as a monument of Russian architecture became clear to everyone. In 1959-1960 the building was reconstructed in its original form.
Andronevskaya square, 10
Spassky Cathedral of the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Lodo27 was built in 1326-1327 and was at that time the first stone church in Moscow. However, a hundred years later, its condition ceased to correspond to the status of the main temple of Russia: the walls that had lost their presentable appearance, which threatened to collapse, were supported by logs. The construction of the new cathedral began on April 30, 1471 and was entrusted to the Russians. architect Krivtsov And Myshkin. Tragedy prevented the completion of what had been started: during the earthquake on May 20, 1474, the walls of the temple, brought almost to the vaults, collapsed, since “the lime was not gluey, and the stone was not hard.” Ivan III Italian was invited architect Aristotle Fioravanti, who completely dismantled the construction of Russian architects and began construction from scratch. The new cathedral was consecrated on August 12, 1479. Many key events in the history of Russia are connected with it. For example, in 1547 he was married here to the kingdom Ivan IV, and starting from Peter II Assumption Cathedral hosted the coronation of each new Russian emperor, despite the fact that the capital was moved to St. Petersburg. repeatedly suffered from fires and was restored again: in 1547 the top of the building was covered with gilded copper sheets, and in 1624 the dilapidated arches were dismantled and folded again. In 1812, the temple, like many other Moscow shrines, was looted and desecrated by the Napoleonic army. After October revolution it was closed for access and worship, and since 1955 it received the status of a museum. After the collapse Soviet Union the temple became known as the "Patriarchal cathedral”, and today divine services are held in it on separate days with the blessing of the patriarch.
Moscow Kremlin
Assumption Cathedral. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Faceted Chamber, the oldest surviving civil building in Moscow, was built in 1487-1491 according to the project Marco Ruffo And Pietro Antonio Solari. Meetings were held here Boyar Duma, sat Zemsky Sobor various festivities were held. Interestingly, a special secret "observation chamber" was provided for the king's children in the chamber. The queen with children could watch through a special lattice for magnificent receptions of foreign delegations. Today, the Faceted Chamber is a hall at the residence of the President of Russia.
st. Volkhonka, 3/4
Faceted Chamber. Front facade. View from Cathedral Square. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Gerard Janot
Travel Palace Basil III(father of Ivan the Terrible)- the oldest secular building outside the earthen city. Its discovery in 2003 was a real sensation. Then, during the restoration of the Golitsyn estate, white-stone masonry of the 16th century was found under a layer of plaster. layout ancient building almost completely preserved. The place for the construction of the palace was not chosen by chance: it was here that in 1395 they met Vladimir icon Vladimirskaya Mother of God, which, according to legend, saved Russia from the invasion of hordes Tamerlane. Now the house is occupied by commercial organizations.
st. Staraya Basmannaya, 15
Travel Palace of Vasily III. Photo: pastvu.com / losinka1 - the oldest civil building outside the Kremlin. This white stone residential building was built in the 15th century and was owned by Ivan Bobrishev nicknamed "Yushka", the bed-keeper of the Grand Duke Ivan III. Apparently, Yushka left no heirs, and after his death, the building became state-owned. The English court of the chamber began to be called after in 1553 Sir Richard Chancellor opened the Northern sea route which connected England and Russia. The British supplied gunpowder, saltpeter, lead, pewter, and they brought furs, blubber, wood, hemp, and leather to England. Ivan the Terrible was interested in trade relations with England and granted overseas merchants a house in Zaryadye. After the rupture of trade relations with England in 1649 in connection with the execution in Great Britain King Charles I all English merchants were expelled from Russia, and their property was confiscated. After that, the boyar owned the chambers for more than 20 years. Ivan Andreevich Miloslavsky, and then the metochion of the Nizhny Novgorod Metropolitan was located here. IN mid-eighteenth century Peter I arranged in this building one of the first Arithmetic Schools in Russia, and then it was sold into private hands and changed owners many times. By the middle of the 20th century, the chambers had lost their original appearance: in Soviet time there were residential apartments, various institutions. The revival of the chambers in its original form is associated with the name restorer Pyotr Baranovsky, who in the 1960s discovered an architectural monument under the later layers and insisted that it be preserved. After a comprehensive study, the building was returned to the appearance of the XVI century. In 1994, the grand opening of the Old English Court Museum took place, which became a branch of the Museum of the History of Moscow.
st. Varvarka, 4
English court in Zaryadye. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / NVO - a complex of buildings in which fragments of buildings have been preserved late XVI - early XVIII centuries. This is the oldest of the existing residential buildings in Moscow. Once upon a time there was a yard Chief Marshal Lewald, and later were listed as owners Prince Ivan Urusov, merchant Semyon Mylnikov, collegiate adviser Mikhail Chebyshev. His daughter Ekaterina Chebysheva married Prince Pavel Golitsyn, and from that moment the estate began to be associated with this surname. However, even after the Golitsyns, its owners were representatives famous families — Karasy, Savostyanovs, Tsyplakovs. In the second half of the 19th century, the estate was leased to various institutions: in different time there were furnished rooms, School of Music, hospital, printing house, bookbinding workshop. In the latter in 1914 he worked as a compositor Sergey Yesenin. According to activist of the city protection organization "Arkhnadzor" Alexander Mozhaev, five years ago, the restoration of the estate began, which was planned to be turned into luxury housing, but it was frozen. IN this moment unidentified persons live in a semi-abandoned building (the lights are on in the evenings on the second floor). The estate is in disrepair, and this is especially true of the roof and facade. The outbuildings of the complex are occupied by various commercial organizations.
Krivokolenny lane, 10
Chambers of the Golitsyns. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / NVO
Solodezhnaya Simonov Monastery- the oldest "multi-storey building", was erected in XVI-XVII centuries and is one of the few surviving buildings of the Simonov Monastery. The monastery, founded in 1370, was almost completely destroyed during the construction of the ZIL automobile plant. The malting room (dryer) was intended for storing monastic products, grain, malt, and according to other sources, it was also a dining room. The uniqueness of this building lies in the fact that it is taller than a modern five-story building: such houses were very rare in those days. Now the building is used for household needs.
st. Vostochnaya, 4
View from the bell tower on the Moscow River (below, the Dulo tower and the Sushila (Solodezhnaya) building are visible; to the left of the bend of the river is the church in Stary Simonov, old photograph.
How old is architecture? Experts are sure that the first structures on Earth appeared long before our era. At the same time, ancient buildings sometimes look simply amazing. Even the question arises - who really built the most ancient buildings, fragments of which have survived to this day.
Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara recognized as the most ancient building planets. The building was built by the Egyptians, and it is even known that the name of the ancient architect was Imhotep. The pyramid was built around 2650 BC. This is the first such structure, other Egyptian pyramids arose much later. The height of the building is 62 meters, and the size of the base is 121 * 109 meters.
Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara
In Europe, the oldest is settlement of Skara Brae. This is an amazing architectural monument, which is located on the islands of Scotland. The settlement is very well preserved, and allowed scientists to learn the details of the life of ancient people. There are 10 houses here that were built around 2500 BC. Ancient dwellings struck with their well-equipped. The researchers claim that there were covered passages, heating, bathrooms and water supply.
Skara Brae, Scotland
Stonehenge in England is not only very ancient building, but also an architectural mystery of all times. The age of the buildings is from 1100 to 3500 BC.
Stonehenge in England
Is a real work ancient architecture. It was built around 1473 BC. The building was created by an incredibly talented architect. The temple rests on massive columns, its whole appearance is attractive and harmonious.
Temple of Queen Hatshepsut in Egypt
famous the statue Great Sphinx appeared around 1400 BC. A huge statue 20 meters high and 73 meters long stands on the banks of the Egyptian Nile River. Here are the tombs of the pharaohs - the Sphinx seems to guard their peace.
statue of the Great Sphinx
IN ancient city Rome preserved Mamertine dungeon. The countdown of its existence is from 578 BC. Criminals were kept here, but as it turned out, not all of them were guilty. According to legend, it was here that they held their last days Apostles Peter and Paul. The dungeon is located at the base of the Capitol Hill.
Mamertine Dungeon, Rome
It is the oldest building in Russia. The years of its construction from 1475 to 1479. The temple was built by Russian masters under the guidance of the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti. The building is well preserved thanks to numerous restorations. Sometimes services are held here even today.
Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin
10 most ancient buildings in the world:
10) Royal Grave, Sweden.
This unusual tomb was built in the Bronze Age, over 3,000 years ago.
9) Naveta des Tudons, Spain.
This burial site was discovered in 1975. It contains the remains of more than a hundred people, and their valuables are bronze bracelets and ceramic buttons. The tomb was built over 3,200 years ago.
8) Treasury of Atreus, Greece.
This tomb was built in the Bronze Age, over 3250 years ago. For more than a thousand years, it has been the owner of the highest and widest dome in the world. But that was before the construction of the Pantheon.
7) Caral, Peru.
This is a large ancient settlement in Peru, built over 4600 years ago. Currently, Caral is considered the oldest city In South America.
6) Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt.
The pyramid was built as the tomb of Pharaoh Djoser over 4700 years ago. The tomb is the oldest stone building in the world.
5) Hulbjerg Jættestue, Denmark.
The tomb was built 5000 years ago. It contains the remains of 400 people, one of which served as an example of early dental work.
4) Ireland.
A prehistoric monument, as well as the oldest building in Ireland, built about 5,100 years ago.
3) Monte d'Accoddi, Italy.
Built somewhere between 5,200-4,800 years ago. This amazingly preserved building was either a temple or an altar.
2) Knap of Howar, Scotland.
It was originally part of the estate. Today, this building is considered the oldest stone house in Europe. Built about 5500 years ago.
1) Megalithic Temples of Malta.
These buildings have been used as religious temples and are the oldest of their kind in the world. They were built over 5500 years ago.
September 12th, 2014
The sensational discovery of a German archaeologist in Anatolia allows us to take a fresh look at the ancient history of human civilization. On a mountain slope in southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, an expedition led by Klaus Schmidt unearthed a magnificent ancient temple, which is 12 thousand years old.
The oldest of the religious buildings found to date, Göbekli Tepe, built in the early Neolithic era, was discovered in the middle of the 20th century. However, scientists became interested in this cultural monument only after massive stone walls and T-shaped columns covered with drawings were found in the 1990s.
It is assumed that total number temples in Göbekli Tepe should reach 20. Each of the buildings probably marked the ascent of Sirius in the sky at different times.
The star Sirius first appeared in the earth's sky about 11,300 thousand years ago. In terms of brightness, it ranks fourth right after the Moon, Venus and Jupiter, so it certainly made an indelible impression on the person of the early Neolithic era.
Let's explore it in more detail...
Photo 2. 
Klaus Schmidt Privatdozent at the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin, studies ancient history humanity. When in 1994 Schmidt began excavations at Gobekli Tepe, he was sure that these excavations would become the main business of his life. Archaeological complex in this area can be compared with Stonehenge in England, with the only difference being that the ruins in Anatolia are 6,000 years older.
As a child, Klaus Schmidt did not crawl out of the caves in his native Germany, hoping to find prehistoric drawings there. Thirty years later, already representing the German Archaeological Institute, he discovered something infinitely more important - a temple complex almost twice as old as all similar structures on the planet.
Photo 3. 
“This place is a supernova,” says Schmidt, standing under a lone tree on a windswept hill 55km north of Turkey's border with Syria. “Already in the first minute after its discovery, I knew that I had two ways: either to leave here without saying a word to anyone, or to spend the rest of my life here, on these excavations.”
Photo 4. 
Behind him, the first bends of the Anatolian plateau open up. Ahead, hundreds of miles to Baghdad and further south, the Mesopotamian Plain stretches like a dust-colored sea. Directly ahead, hidden behind a ledge of a hill, are the stone circles of Gobekli Tepe. In those days, when people did not yet build permanent dwellings for themselves, did not know how to make a simple earthenware bowl, earned their livelihood by hunting and gathering, the inhabitants of South-Eastern Anatolia erected a monumental sanctuary for their gods.
Photo 5. 
Compared to Stonehenge, the most famous prehistoric monument in the UK, they are not impressive in scale. None of the excavated circular structures (and there are currently four out of twenty) exceeds 30 meters in diameter. What makes these finds completely unique is the images of wild boars, foxes, lions, birds, snakes and scorpions carved on them, as well as the age of the finds themselves. They were created in 9.5 thousand years BC. They are 5.5 thousand years old older than the first cities of Mesopotamia and for 7 thousand years - Stonehenge.
Photo 6. 
In Gobekli Tepe, archaeologists discovered on a hill a giant complex of round buildings and stone pillars with carved reliefs. Currently, only a small part of the buildings has been excavated, but if we take into account the age of the ruins, it immediately becomes clear that this is a unique archaeological site.
Photo 7. 
The ancient ruins of Nevali-Keri, which since 1992 have been at the bottom of the Ataturk reservoir, are almost as old as Gobekli-Tepe, their age is 10,500 years. But the pillars are much smaller there, and the decoration is more modest. Gobekli Tepe can compete with the temples in the age of Jericho, but there are no large sculptures, no architectural decorations. All other ancient archaeological sites belong to a different era - they arose about 2 thousand years later. The people who created these rounded monuments and stone bas-reliefs, the whole complex, did not even have pottery and did not grow cereals. They lived in settlements. But they were hunters, not farmers.
Photo 8. 
Judging by the age of the Gobekli Tepe complex, it was in this area that hunters and gatherers switched to a settled way of life. In Gobekli Tepe, first of all, they amaze intellectual ability people of the Stone Age, their diligence and knowledge of the construction business. But until now, scientists were sure that the implementation of such gigantic projects as the construction of the temple, involves a settled way of life and a high degree organizations.
“It has always been assumed that only complex societies with a hierarchical structure could build such monumental structures, and that they appeared only with the advent of tillage,” says Stanford University anthropology professor Ian Hodder, who has led the excavation since 1993. in Çatal Hoyuk, the most famous of the Neolithic settlements in Turkey. – Gobekli turned all ideas around. This is a complex structure and belongs to the era before the dawn of agriculture. This fact alone puts him among the most important archaeological finds over a very long period of time."
Photo 9. 
The archaeological site at Gobekli Tepe was surveyed for the first time in 1963. However, then archaeologists underestimated its significance, and long time didn't work there at all. On the hill, in the thickness of which the temple complex is located, there was a field of oats. The peasants continually removed the bulky stones that hindered them from the fields, so that top part the temple was destroyed before it was explored by scientists.
According to the excavated sites, it can be concluded that people stayed here for a very long time. Near the round building of the sanctuary, several smaller buildings were found, in which, apparently, some kind of ritual meetings took place. But in all these buildings there is no the slightest sign human habitation.
Excavations have been going on for ten years now. As a result, only a small part has been cleared so far, but the purpose of Gobekli Tepe for the people who built it remains unclear. Some believe that this place was intended for fertility rituals, and two high stone in the center of each circle symbolize a man and a woman.
Photo 10. 
But Schmidt is skeptical about fertility theory. He shares the opinion that Gobekli Tepe could be "the last heyday of a semi-nomadic society, which was about to be destroyed by the coming era of agriculture." He points out that if today this place has been preserved for almost perfect condition, only because its builders soon buried their creation under tons of earth, as if their wildlife-rich world had lost all its meaning.
“From my point of view, the people who carved them were asking the greatest questions of all,” the scientist continues. - What is the universe? Why are we here? But there are no symbols of fertility found at other Neolithic excavations, and the T-shaped pillars, while obviously semi-human, are asexual. “I think this is where we come across some of the earliest depictions of the gods,” says Schmidt, stroking one of the largest boulders with his hand. “They have no eyes, no mouths, no faces. But they have hands and they have palms. These are the creators."
Photo 11. 
Perhaps the most interesting thing in Gobekli Tepe is its last days. The buildings are undoubtedly filled up, and this explains their good preservation. All ancient religious buildings were simply abandoned, abandoned, but the temple on the Anatolian hill was literally buried in the ground. The massive building with monolithic giant pillars, covered with magnificent reliefs, is covered to the top with stones and soil, so that it literally disappeared underground.
Photo 12. 
Although archaeologists have freed only part of Gobekli Tepe from under the embankment, one can already appreciate the unusual big sizes sanctuaries. It consists of four different temples surrounded by a low stone wall. Particularly interesting are the T-shaped monoliths with partially preserved reliefs. They depict birds, gazelles, bulls in a very naturalistic way. Next to the image of a donkey and a snake, you can distinguish the head of a fox. There are even spiders and a voluminous wild boar with a scowling, blunt muzzle.
What the builders of the temple gave great importance world of animals, in itself is not surprising. But they depicted wild animals, and this confirms the assumption that the creators of the sanctuary were not settled farmers. Another thing is also interesting: in the vicinity of Gobekli Tepe, all kinds of wild-growing cereals are presented, which were later cultivated as grain crops.
Photo 13. 
Perhaps Gobekli Tepe is the one missing link in the chain - a connecting element between the primitive nomadic hunter-gatherers and sedentary farmers. The production of monolithic stone pillars with reliefs requires certain professional skills - this requires masons. This means that other people supplied the stonemasons with everything necessary for life, that is, they had a society based on the division of labor.
Photo 14. 
There are pictograms on some of the pillars. Some archaeologists speculate that these icons may have influenced sign systems that developed at a later time, but it is difficult to see if there is a connection between the two. Hieroglyphs were common not in neighboring Mesopotamia, but in Ancient Egypt, that is, far from Gobekli Tepe. In addition, the time interval between Ancient Egypt and the culture of Gobekli Tepe is very large.
Photo 15. 
The end of the sanctuary of Gobekli-Tepe fell at the beginning of the VIII millennium BC. At this time, agriculture spread in neighboring Mesopotamia. The soil in the vicinity of Gobekli Tepe is poor, perhaps for this reason the sanctuary has lost its significance. The most important centers were formed much to the south, on fertile plains, in river valleys. By at least, this can partly explain why people left the temple, where for hundreds of years their ancestors worshiped the gods. They covered the sanctuary with stones and left forever.
The lessons of Gobekli Tepe encourage us to reconsider the idea of the so-called Neolithic revolution. Until now, historians thought that the transition of nomadic tribes to a settled way of life created the prerequisites for the construction of large urban centers and huge temples. But the experience of Gobekli Tepe proves that, in all likelihood, it was just the opposite: the very existence of a grandiose sanctuary, where the main rituals took place, encouraged people not to move away from it, but to stay close to the holy place and arrange permanent dwellings for themselves. So, at first there was still a temple, and then a house, a village and a city.
Photo 16. 
The mystery of Göbekli Tepe is no less amazing than the secrets of the pyramids, but much older. Scientists can only assume that it was a ritual structure, but it is not known for certain what made the ancient people come together and build such a truly colossal building.
A variety of assumptions appear among researchers and enthusiasts: from the mundane to the incredible. Some believe that Gobekli Tepe was not a temple, but only a place where people lived, while others put forward ideas about the intervention of alien races in the history of the Earth and the construction of this complex by aliens. There are opinions that Göbekli Tepe was the Garden of Eden or the prototype of Noah's Ark.
RUSSIAN HISTORIAN GENNADY KLIMOV CONSIDERS that Gobekli Tepe and similar buildings on the territory of Russia were erected by the same race. He confirms his theory by the fact that in the 9th millennium BC. there was no Black Sea yet, and the way from the Russian glacial steppes to these regions was free.
We are accustomed to the idea that agriculture first appeared, and then settlements, but Göbekli Tepe globally changes our understanding of ancient people in this matter as well. Scientists have found that for the construction of such a monumental structure, it was necessary to gather at least 500 people at the same time. That is, all these people lived together.
Photo 17. 
Scientists suggest that it was the construction of this temple that played important role in the process of transition to agriculture, and hence to the birth of civilization in the usual way for us. As soon as the ancient people got together, began to live in one place, it became difficult to feed so many workers and pilgrims. And perhaps this is what prompted them to domesticate wild plants and animals.
All conclusions regarding the temple complex of Göbekli Tepe are preliminary, since excavations are carried out only on 5% of its territory. Archaeologists believe that research will continue for about 50 years. The dating of the studied part refers the end of layer III to the 9th millennium BC. e., and its beginning - by the XI millennium BC. e. or earlier. Layer II refers to the VIII-IX millennium BC. e.
Photo 18. 
Since the complex appeared before the Neolithic revolution, the origin in this region agriculture and cattle breeding should, apparently, be attributed to the era after the 9th millennium BC. e. At the same time, the construction of such a grand structure required effort. a large number people and certain social organization. This is not typical for the Mesolithic. According to rough estimates, for the manufacture and delivery of columns weighing 10-20 tons from the quarry to the building, which are separated by up to 500 m, in the absence of draft animals, efforts of up to 500 people were required.
In fact, some columns weigh up to 50 tons, so even more people were needed. It is even suggested that slave labor was used in such work, which is also uncharacteristic of hunter-gatherer communities. Such work required planned efforts and a social hierarchy in which many people were subordinate to one religious or military leader, and the religious leader then had to control the performance of the rituals. In this case, the very existence of the temple complex in such a distant historical era indicates social stratification on a very early stage development of Neolithic culture.
