Göbleke Tepe's Pillar 2 is interesting as it displays a bull, the bull has been a symbol used by different cultures throughout history. Therefore if we can rightly associate the bull then perhaps we can make other strong connections as well.
Pillar 2 is situated in enclosure A which has been dated to late 10th or early 9th millennium BCE, the pillar is is facing south-west. The galactic equator runs from NNW to SSE, this is significant as it aligns with the main pillars in enclosure D
Setting the clock further back pushes the galactic equator more in line to north south. Therefore instead of aligning to true north the builders at Göbleki Tepe might have aligned the site to the Milky Way on the summer solstice
If this is a correct explanation of the orientations then this would have been the earliest date, to our knowledge, that humanity has understood the concept of precession of the fixed stars.
Granted the reliefs are very loosely connected to the stars, but the frequent depiction of similar animals and the way in which the are portrayed and the context thereof is intriguing. Read more...
