Editing Göbekli Tepe (section)

== Geography and environment ==
[[File:Göbekli Tepe surrounding area.JPG|thumb|Present day landscape around Göbekli Tepe]]Göbekli Tepe is located in the [[Taş Tepeler]] ('Stone Hills'), in the foothills of the [[Taurus Mountains]].{{sfn|Clare et al.|2017|p=17}} It overlooks the Harran plain and the headwaters of the Balikh River, a tributary of the [[Euphrates]].{{sfn|Clare et al.|2017|p=17}} The site is a [[tell (archaeology)|tell]] (artificial mound) on a flat [[limestone]] plateau.{{sfn|Knitter et al.|2019}} In the north, the plateau is connected to the neighbouring mountains by a narrow promontory. In all other directions, the ridge descends steeply into slopes and steep cliffs.{{sfn|Schmidt|2006|p=102}}

The climate of the area was warmer and wetter when Göbekli Tepe was occupied than it is today.{{sfn|Knitter et al.|2019}} The site was surrounded by an open [[steppe]] grassland,{{sfn|Knitter et al.|2019}} with abundant wild cereals, including [[einkorn]], wheat, and [[barley]],{{sfn|Neef|2003}} and herds of grazing animals such as wild sheep, wild goat, gazelle, and equids.{{sfn|Peters et al.|2013}} Large herds of goitered gazelle (''Gazella subgutturosa'') may have passed by the site in seasonal migrations.{{sfn|Lang et al.|2013}} There is no evidence of substantial woodlands nearby;{{sfn|Knitter et al.|2019}} 90% of the charcoal recovered at the site was from pistachio or almond trees.{{sfn|Neef|2003|p=14}}

Like most Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) sites in the Urfa region, Göbekli Tepe was built on a high point on the edge of the mountains, giving it both a wide view over the plain beneath, and good visibility from the plain.{{sfn|Moetz|Çelik|2012}} This location also gave the builders good access to raw material: the soft limestone bedrock from which the complex was built, and the flint to make the tools to work the limestone.{{sfn|Moetz|Çelik|2012}} The prehistoric village acquired drinking water through a [[rainwater harvesting]] system, consisting of carved channels{{Sfn|Clare|2020|p=84-85}} that fed several [[cistern]]s carved into the bedrock under the site,{{sfn|Herrmann|Schmidt|2012}} which could hold at least {{convert|150|m3}} of water.{{sfn|Dietrich et al.|2019}}{{sfn|Curry|2021}} Additionally, the local [[water table]] may have been higher, activating springs closer to the site which are dormant today.{{sfn|Banning|2011}}

Excavations have taken place at the southern slope of the tell, south, and west of a [[mulberry]] that marks an [[Pilgrimage|Islamic pilgrimage]],{{sfn|Schmidt|2009|p=188}} but archaeological finds come from the entire plateau. The team has also found many remains of tools. At the western [[escarpment]], a small cave has been discovered in which a small [[relief]] depicting a [[bovid]] was found. It is the only relief found in this cave.{{sfn|Schmidt|2006|p=111}}