This is Göbekli Tepe, a structural complex around 11,500 years old, found in Upper Mesopotamia. While it seems like a bunch of rocks oddly placed across each other, archaeologists from Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the Israel Antiquities Authority found something interesting about the relationships of these rocks: they have an underlying geometric pattern.
Considering this sprawling temple complex was constructed around 11,500 years ago – before the widespread development of agriculture, and some 6,000 years before the construction of Stonehenge – that’s quite the feat.
The findings of the new research were recently published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal.
Like other strange ancient structures, the Göbekli Tepe is thought to have been of ritual significance.
More details about this over at IFL Science.
(Image Credit: Teomancimit/ Wikimedia Commons)