Göbekli Tepe was first investigated in the 1960s but was dismissed at that time as a medieval cemetery.
Notes on verification
Multiple independent, authoritative sources (Smithsonian Magazine, German Archaeological Institute's Tepe Telegrams citing Klaus Schmidt, Long Now Foundation) confirm the 1963 survey misidentification, though exact terminology varies between 'medieval,' 'Islamic,' and 'Byzantine' cemetery. [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
- Gobekli Tepe | Neolithic, Prehistoric, Monument, & Map (seed:history_and_archaeology)
- Gobekli Tepe: The World's First Temple? - Smithsonian Magazine (seed:history_and_archaeology)
- https://www.dainst.blog/the-tepe-telegrams/2016/06/02/gobekli-tepe-the-first-20-years-of-research/ (corroboration)
- https://longnow.org/ideas/gobekli-tepe-younger-dryas-comet/ (corroboration)