Pre-Pottery Neolithic is such a remote era in the human story, a period of time spanning 11,600 and 9,000 years ago, and although many of you may have heard about one particular site from this time, that being the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Göbekli Tepe – you may be surprised to learn there are in fact dozens.
Göbekli Tepe is the most famous, and it’s also one of the largest, but just 36 km away there is another huge site. This of course is Karahan Tepe, a site that’s been excavated for the past few years and the findings have been nothing short of astonishing. I have many videos you can watch for some background information, including site walkthroughs, drone footage, and excavation updates.
Regarding Karahan Tepe and the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, one of the biggest mysteries for me has always been Building AB – the pillared structure, because it is just so unique. We don’t find another structure like this anywhere else, and it’s right in the heart of the site.
So what is it? Why does it have such a bizarre and unique form? Was it a functional space, or was it ritual? In this video I present a brand new hypothesis for Building AB and if I'm right, it could be the world's oldest type of the structure found anywhere in the world.
00:00 - Introduction
00-:27 - The Pre-Pottery Neolithic
01:11 - Introduction to Karahan Tepe
02:52 - Karahan Tepe Pillared Structure AB
08:27 - The Ancient Granaries of Dhra'
16:06 - More Pre-Pottery Neolithic Granaries
18:18 - Food Storage at Karahan Tepe
19:38 - Why Structure AB is a Granary
22:04 - Why Use Mud for a Granary?
23:31 - A Multi-Phase Structure?
23:57 - The Stone Pillars Explained
25:07 - The Porthole into Enclosure AD
25:49 - Two Phases of Use
29:36 - The Granary's Sloping Floor
29:59 - The Channel into the Enclosure
30:30 - What is Structure AA?
31:52 - Conclusing Remarks