Reichert Verlag

This scholarly volume offers the first comprehensive presentation of the imagery carved on the T-shaped pillars from the monumental special-purpose buildings of the Early Neolithic UNESCO World Heritage Site of Göbekli Tepe in present-day southeastern Türkiye uncovered between 1995 and 2023. These monolithic pillars are examined not only as striking architectural elements but as carriers of an extensive visual repertoire rendered in high and low relief.
Set within their archaeological and architectural settings, the reliefs open new perspectives on the symbolic worlds, belief systems, and narrative traditions of Early Holocene hunter-gatherer communities in Upper Mesopotamia. For this publication, every carved motif has been systematically re-examined , allowing for revised identifications of animal taxa, updated quantitative assessments, and refined interpretations.
With the complete presentation of the reliefs and their critical reanalysis, the book advances new readings of Neolithic imagery and its possible meanings. As such, it provides an essential reference for researchers interested in early monumentality, symbolic communication, and the challenges of interpreting a fragmented yet exceptionally rich archaeological record.