Archaeologists have uncovered the first two intact burial contexts at Göbeklitepe in southeastern Türkiye, offering new insights into how its Neolithic inhabitants treated their dead and potentially solving a decades-old mystery surrounding hundreds of scattered human bones found at the site.
The discoveries, dating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period between 8700 and 8000 BC, suggest that many of the fragmented human remains found inside Göbeklitepe’s monumental buildings may have originated from burials beneath the floors of nearby dwellings.
A new study, published on 22 September 2026 in the journal PLOS One, proposes that erosion and landslides carried human remains from higher parts of the settlement into the monumental structures below, where archaeologists have been recovering scattered bones since excavations began in 1995.
The findings challenge the assumption that all the human remains discovered within Göbeklitepe’s monumental buildings were deliberately deposited as part of ancient burial rituals.
However, the researchers emphasise that the new evidence does not rule out other mortuary practices, including the deliberate modification and ceremonial treatment of human skulls.
A decades-old mystery at Göbeklitepe
Located approximately 15 kilometres northeast of Şanlıurfa, Göbeklitepe is among the most significant archaeological sites of the early Neolithic period.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site is renowned for its monumental stone enclosures and enormous T-shaped pillars, many decorated with elaborate carvings of wild animals and other symbolic imagery.
The settlement mound accumulated over approximately 1,600 years, from around 9600 to 8000 BC, during a period when communities in Southwest Asia were transitioning from mobile hunting and gathering to more permanent settlements and farming.
For many years, Göbeklitepe was interpreted primarily as a ritual centre. More recent excavations, however, have revealed increasing evidence of domestic buildings and everyday activities, suggesting that people lived at the site throughout its occupation.
One of its most persistent archaeological mysteries has been the presence of fragmented human bones scattered through the deposits filling its monumental buildings.
Researchers have identified 928 individual bone fragments, excluding those from the newly studied burials. These remains belong to males and females of different age groups and exhibit various forms of damage and modification.
Some bones show evidence of deliberate human intervention, including deep incisions on skull fragments, while others appear to have been damaged by natural processes.
Until now, archaeologists have struggled to explain why these remains were so widely dispersed across the site.
First burial reveals remains of at least three people
The first burial examined in the new study was discovered in 2017 during construction of a drainage channel associated with the protective shelter covering Göbeklitepe’s main excavation area.
Archaeologists uncovered a kidney-shaped burial pit beneath the plaster floor of a rectangular Neolithic building.
Inside were the skeletal remains of at least three individuals whose bones had been deliberately rearranged within the grave.
The researchers identified an adult woman aged at least 35, a man aged between 20 and 30, and an adolescent girl estimated to have been between 11 and 14 years old.
Some skeletal evidence suggests that a fourth individual may also have been present.
The skulls had been gathered in the southeastern corner of the pit, while other bones were concentrated towards its centre. Several long bones had been arranged along the western wall.
The collective burial contained the remains of at least three individuals whose bones had been rearranged within the grave.
Although the bones were no longer in their original anatomical positions, the presence of small hand and foot bones suggests that complete bodies, or at least fully articulated limbs, were initially placed in the grave.
The researchers propose that the burial was reopened as additional individuals were interred, with the remains of earlier occupants moved aside to create space.
The relatively small size of the pit makes it unlikely that all three bodies were buried simultaneously.
The arrangement provides evidence of a collective burial practice in which the dead were initially interred beneath a building floor and their remains subsequently reorganised.
Second burial contains a young adult woman
The second burial was initially discovered in 2012 but was sealed and left for further investigation because of time constraints. It was fully excavated in 2022.
Located immediately west of Göbeklitepe’s monumental Building A, the burial contained the remains of a young adult, most likely a woman aged between 20 and 30.
The individual had been placed on her left side in a flexed position, facing east.
Unlike the collective burial, much of the skeleton remained in its original anatomical position.
The body rested on a layer of stones, although archaeologists could not identify a clearly defined burial pit. The researchers believe the burial was probably originally located beneath a floor that has not survived intact.
The second burial contained a young adult placed on the left side in a flexed position.
The skeleton was heavily fragmented, despite having remained largely undisturbed.
Several long bones were broken, and their ends were missing. Many of the fragments were covered with calcareous deposits that had accumulated during the thousands of years since burial.
The researchers also identified possible rodent gnawing marks. These observations proved particularly important because they demonstrated that extensive damage could occur naturally while a body remained buried, without the bones having been deliberately broken or scattered by humans.
Ancient landslides may explain scattered human bones
By comparing the newly excavated skeletons with the fragmented remains recovered from Göbeklitepe’s monumental buildings, the researchers identified striking similarities.
Both groups of bones exhibit extensive fragmentation, calcareous deposits and evidence of animal activity.
The findings support an alternative explanation for the scattered human remains that have puzzled archaeologists for decades.
Rather than being deliberately placed throughout the monumental buildings, at least some of the bones may have originated from ordinary burials beneath the floors of dwellings situated higher on the settlement mound.
Over time, erosion and slope movements could have displaced these burials, carrying soil, stones and human remains downhill into the monumental structures.
Göbeklitepe’s large stone enclosures occupy a depression surrounded by higher accumulated settlement deposits, making them particularly vulnerable to material moving down the slopes.
Previous research has suggested that the monumental buildings were filled, at least partly, by such processes rather than being entirely and deliberately buried during their abandonment.
The new skeletal evidence provides further support for this interpretation.
The researchers conclude that the similarities between the intact burial contexts and the scattered remains offer a plausible explanation for how human bones became distributed across the excavation area.
However, they caution that not every fragment can necessarily be attributed to displaced burials.
Evidence of an ancient skull cult remains
Although the new study provides an explanation for much of the scattered skeletal material, it does not eliminate evidence of more complex mortuary traditions at Göbeklitepe.
Previous investigations have identified human skull fragments bearing deep incisions, indicating that some individuals received deliberate treatment after death.
The latest research notes that cranial fragments from five individuals exhibit such modifications.
These marks may reflect ceremonial practices involving the skulls of selected individuals, although the precise meaning of the modifications remains unknown.
The researchers also point to Göbeklitepe’s distinctive imagery, including depictions of headless human figures and sculptures of animals associated with human heads, as possible evidence of symbolic traditions involving death and the human body.
Comparable practices have been documented at other Neolithic sites in southeastern Türkiye.
At Sefertepe, archaeologists have discovered a chamber containing at least 21 human skulls, most positioned facing southeast.
At Karahantepe, human skull fragments show evidence of cutting, scraping and burning.
These discoveries suggest that Neolithic communities in the region practised a variety of burial traditions, some involving the deliberate removal, modification or repositioning of human remains.
The Göbeklitepe researchers therefore consider it possible that ordinary burials beneath building floors existed alongside more elaborate mortuary rituals.
Discovery changes understanding of Neolithic settlement
The identification of the first two burial contexts also adds to growing evidence that Göbeklitepe was more than a ceremonial gathering place.
The presence of burials associated with domestic buildings supports the interpretation of the site as a settlement where people lived, worked and buried their dead.
Burials beneath house floors were a widespread practice in Neolithic Anatolia and the Levant, and the discoveries at Göbeklitepe place the site within this broader tradition.
The findings also highlight the importance of distinguishing between deliberate human treatment of the dead and changes caused by environmental conditions over thousands of years.
In the newly examined burials, soil pressure, calcareous deposits and animal activity all contributed to the deterioration of the skeletons.
Similar processes may have affected many of the bones recovered elsewhere at the site.
Nevertheless, the researchers stress that Göbeklitepe’s burial traditions were probably more varied than any single explanation can account for.
Further skeletal analysis and absolute dating will be needed to establish when different mortuary practices occurred and how they changed during the settlement’s long occupation.
Sources : PLOS ONE – https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358979
