Experts initially studied Göbekli Tepe in the 1960s but dismissed it as a medieval cemetery; German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt revealed the complex's true age in 1994.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by multiple independent, credible sources including academic and museum publications; minor variance in the exact cemetery classification (medieval/Byzantine/Islamic) across sources does not undermine the core claim. [tier=unverified indep_score=0.3 clusters=4 claim_tier=notable] [rescored 2026-09-15: curated origin-host map (PR #65); unclassified hosts no longer scored as aggregators]
Sources
- Did Geometry Guide the Construction of the World's Oldest ... (seed:history_and_archaeology)
- https://www.dainst.blog/the-tepe-telegrams/2016/06/02/gobekli-tepe-the-first-20-years-of-research/ (corroboration)
- https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/anthropology/gobekli-tepe-archaeological-site (corroboration)
- https://www.ancient-origins.net/history/gobekli-tepe-0014650 (corroboration)
- https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/cult-as-a-driving-force-of-human-history/ (corroboration)