There are plenty of ancient landmarks around the world, but only one is the oldest and completely rewrites what we thought we knew about history. It’s a place that is so old, it existed long before famous sites like Stonehenge or the pyramids were even imagined.

That site is Göbekli Tepe, located in southeastern Turkey. The huge stone complex is believed to be around 11,500 to 12,000 years old, dating back to roughly 9600-8000 BCE. It is widely considered the world’s oldest known example of large-scale stone architecture. Before it was discovered, historians believed humans only started building major structures after farming began.

But Göbekli Tepe shows the opposite, with massive stone pillars built by hunter-gatherers thousands of years before agriculture.

The site is made up of large T-shaped stone pillars, some weighing up to 20 tonnes, arranged in circular formations. Many of these pillars are carved with animals including vultures, snakes and foxes, along with abstract symbols.

To put its age into perspective, Göbekli Tepe is around 6,600 years older than Stonehenge, which dates back about 5,000 years. It is also roughly 7,100 years older than the Great Pyramid of Giza, and around 9,600 years older than the Roman Colosseum.

In fact, there is more time between Göbekli Tepe and the pyramids than there is between the pyramids and today.

Despite its age, the site remains a mystery. One of the biggest questions is how it was built.

The people who created it did not have metal tools, wheels or domesticated animals, yet they were able to move and carve enormous stones.

Another mystery is why the entire site was deliberately buried around 8000 BCE. Instead of being left to decay, it was covered with thousands of tonnes of earth, which helped preserve it.

Experts still do not know why this was done. For years, there was also no clear evidence of homes or water sources nearby, leading to the idea that it was not a settlement.

Instead, many believe it was used as a gathering place for rituals, sometimes described as the world’s first temple. Others think it may have been a social meeting point where different groups came together to trade, share ideas or form connections.

Some experts have even suggested that the need to feed large numbers of people working at the site could have helped kickstart farming.

The carvings themselves also raise questions. Vultures are thought to have been linked to beliefs about death and the afterlife, possibly guiding souls.

Snakes appear frequently and may have symbolised danger or the underworld. Foxes are also common and could have represented specific groups or clans connected to the site.

While many theories exist, there are still no clear answers.