Dr. Lee Clare

I mean, we have no evidence for the conflict at this time, no evidence for warfare, strangely enough. And so perhaps that's due to these wonderful buildings bringing people together and mitigating those conflict situations. Just one interpretation, if you're a pacifist. These buildings, they're multifunctional.

For that reason, we shouldn't actually narrow it down just to this one function by using the word or the term temple.

For that reason, we shouldn't actually narrow it down just to this one function by using the word or the term temple.

For that reason, we shouldn't actually narrow it down just to this one function by using the word or the term temple.

No. I mean, we always thought that burials would be in the special buildings, you know, at least of some sort of important individuals.

No. I mean, we always thought that burials would be in the special buildings, you know, at least of some sort of important individuals.

No. I mean, we always thought that burials would be in the special buildings, you know, at least of some sort of important individuals.

But of course, you know, with the changes taking place in this sort of population at that time, you know, an increasing number of people, you'd expect some sort of incipient hierarchization because, of course, you know, these societies or hunter-gatherer societies are well known to be sort of quite egalitarian, although egalitarian doesn't really exist, you know, strictly speaking.

But of course, you know, with the changes taking place in this sort of population at that time, you know, an increasing number of people, you'd expect some sort of incipient hierarchization because, of course, you know, these societies or hunter-gatherer societies are well known to be sort of quite egalitarian, although egalitarian doesn't really exist, you know, strictly speaking.

But of course, you know, with the changes taking place in this sort of population at that time, you know, an increasing number of people, you'd expect some sort of incipient hierarchization because, of course, you know, these societies or hunter-gatherer societies are well known to be sort of quite egalitarian, although egalitarian doesn't really exist, you know, strictly speaking.

But we haven't found any burials in the special buildings so far. I say so far, you know, there's always, you know, it can always happen. What we do have is quite characteristic for the region itself and for the time, so for the pre-Potterian mythic period in the eastern parts of the Mediterranean, which is subfloor burial.

But we haven't found any burials in the special buildings so far. I say so far, you know, there's always, you know, it can always happen. What we do have is quite characteristic for the region itself and for the time, so for the pre-Potterian mythic period in the eastern parts of the Mediterranean, which is subfloor burial.

But we haven't found any burials in the special buildings so far. I say so far, you know, there's always, you know, it can always happen. What we do have is quite characteristic for the region itself and for the time, so for the pre-Potterian mythic period in the eastern parts of the Mediterranean, which is subfloor burial.

We have two burials so far at Gobekli Tepe, and all of them from domestic contexts, because of course that's something also that's quite important for Gobekli Tepe, that we've now realised it's not just a ritual site, because there was discussions previously, oh, it's just people coming there regular part-times in the year to celebrate and to build these temples.

We have two burials so far at Gobekli Tepe, and all of them from domestic contexts, because of course that's something also that's quite important for Gobekli Tepe, that we've now realised it's not just a ritual site, because there was discussions previously, oh, it's just people coming there regular part-times in the year to celebrate and to build these temples.

We have two burials so far at Gobekli Tepe, and all of them from domestic contexts, because of course that's something also that's quite important for Gobekli Tepe, that we've now realised it's not just a ritual site, because there was discussions previously, oh, it's just people coming there regular part-times in the year to celebrate and to build these temples.

But of course, now we know it's a settlement. We have the domestic context. We have the houses. Beneath the house floors, you frequently get burials in this period. When grandma died, you actually went down into your cellar or to the ground floor of your building, opened up a hole and bunged her in, covered her up. Really, the living and the dead were very in close proximity

But of course, now we know it's a settlement. We have the domestic context. We have the houses. Beneath the house floors, you frequently get burials in this period. When grandma died, you actually went down into your cellar or to the ground floor of your building, opened up a hole and bunged her in, covered her up. Really, the living and the dead were very in close proximity

But of course, now we know it's a settlement. We have the domestic context. We have the houses. Beneath the house floors, you frequently get burials in this period. When grandma died, you actually went down into your cellar or to the ground floor of your building, opened up a hole and bunged her in, covered her up. Really, the living and the dead were very in close proximity

They weren't separating them by putting them to a separate burial ground away from the site, but they were keeping them close to them. So you get a lot of burials beneath the floors of the buildings, at the thresholds of the buildings, and close within that sort of activity zones of the domestic areas. And we have two such burials at Göbekli Tepe.