Archaeologists in Turkey have discovered evidence suggesting that a prehistoric site dating back 11,000 years was used for an indoor ceremonial procession. This site features a building containing phallic-shaped pillars and carvings of human heads.
Karahantepe, located in southern Turkey, east of Şanlıurfa, showcases a series of structures that appeared long before the invention of writing.
Here, archaeologists have found carvings of human heads, snakes, and foxes, as well as several pillars with intriguing shapes in some buildings in the area.
Carvings of human heads and phallic symbols found in the 11,000-year-old archaeological site in Turkey.
Archaeologists also discovered 11 pillars near one that is carved with a human head. These findings indicate that the artistic capabilities of humans during the Neolithic period had developed to a certain extent.
Phallic Pillars
Necmi Karul, a professor of prehistoric archaeology at Istanbul University, Turkey, wrote in a recent article published in the journal Türk Arkeoloji ve Etnografya Dergisi: “All the pillars are erected and shaped like a phallus.”
“This building is connected to three other buildings to form a complex. The ancients may have held a ceremonial procession through this complex,” Karul stated.
Current evidence suggests that the ancients used the complex for a ritual process that required a procession in the presence of human heads and phallic pillars.
This site dates similarly to Göbekli Tepe, another archaeological site featuring large structures and carvings of animals and human heads. Göbekli Tepe is also located near Şanlıurfa, and archaeologists are working to determine the relationship between the two sites.
Although Karahantepe was discovered in 1997, excavations did not commence until 2019.
