How Old Is Karahan Tepe?

The short answer: Karahan Tepe is more than 11,000 years old. Its main phase dates to roughly 9500–8000 BCE, deep in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic — an age so early that the people who carved it had no pottery, no metal, no writing, and had not yet fully committed to farming. It belongs to the same world as its famous sister site, Göbekli Tepe.

What "11,000 years old" actually means

To feel the number, it helps to compare. Karahan Tepe predates Stonehenge by around six thousand years, and the Great Pyramid of Giza by roughly seven thousand. When its pillars were carved, the last Ice Age had only recently ended, and the first villages were just beginning to form. This is not "ancient" in the way Rome is ancient. It is close to the beginning of settled human life itself.

How do we know its age?

The dates come from a combination of evidence: the site's material culture (its tools, its architecture, and the absence of pottery), its close resemblance to the securely-dated layers of Göbekli Tepe nearby, and radiocarbon dating from the excavations led by Prof. Necmi Karul of Istanbul University. Only a small fraction of Karahan Tepe has been excavated, so the picture will sharpen as more is published — but the broad age, in the tenth to ninth millennium BCE, is well established for its main monumental phase.

Is Karahan Tepe older than Göbekli Tepe?

This is the question everyone asks, and the honest answer is careful: Karahan Tepe and Göbekli Tepe are contemporary sister sites, part of the same Taş Tepeler culture. Göbekli Tepe's earliest monumental enclosures are currently the oldest such architecture securely dated anywhere in the world, and Karahan sits right alongside it in age — among the oldest, but not proven to be older. We explore this properly on our dedicated page: Is Karahan Tepe older than Göbekli Tepe?

A timeline of Karahan Tepe

• c. 9500–8000 BCE — the main monumental phase: the rock-cut chambers, pillars, and carved head are made.
• End of its life — parts of the site, including the Pillar Room, are deliberately filled in and sealed.
• 1997 — the site is first identified by archaeological survey.
• 2019 — systematic excavation begins under Prof. Necmi Karul, as part of the Taş Tepeler project.
• 2021 — the Pillar Room (Structure AB) is fully revealed, turning Karahan Tepe into international news.
• 2023 — the 2.3 m "Ribbed Man" statue is uncovered.
• 2025 — the first T-pillar carved with a human face is found, along with an amphitheatre-like circular structure.
• Every season since — new finds continue to reshape the picture, tracked on our Discoveries page.

Frequently asked questions

How old is Karahan Tepe exactly?

More than 11,000 years old. Its main monumental phase dates to roughly 9500–8000 BCE, in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic.

Is Karahan Tepe older than the pyramids and Stonehenge?

Yes — by a wide margin. It predates Stonehenge by around 6,000 years and the Great Pyramid by roughly 7,000.

Is Karahan Tepe the oldest site in the world?

It is among the oldest monumental sites known, alongside Göbekli Tepe. Göbekli's earliest enclosures currently hold the record for the oldest securely-dated monumental architecture; Karahan is a contemporary of that world.