Archaeologist Klaus Schmidt and colleagues estimated that at least 500 people were needed to quarry, transport, and erect Göbekli Tepe's 10- to 50-ton stone pillars, some moved from locations as far as a quarter-mile away.
Notes on verification
Verbatim match to original 2008 Archaeology Magazine source citing Schmidt's estimate; corroborated by multiple independent sources, though later DAI research offers more conservative/refined figures on distance and labor. [tier=unverified indep_score=0.3 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable] [rescored 2026-09-15: curated origin-host map (PR #65); unclassified hosts no longer scored as aggregators]
Sources
- The World's First Temple - Archaeology Magazine Archive (seed:history_and_archaeology)
- Gobekli Tepe: The World's First Temple? - Smithsonian Magazine (seed:history_and_archaeology)
- https://www.dainst.blog/the-tepe-telegrams/ (corroboration)
- https://answersingenesis.org/archaeology/ancient-technology/overturning-expectations-about-ancient-man/ (corroboration)