Klaus Schmidt
German archaeologist who excavated Göbekli Tepe
- Born
- 1953, Feuchtwangen, Germany
- Died
- 2014
- Institution
- German Archaeological Institute (DAI), Berlin
- Excavated
- Göbekli Tepe, from 1995
- Known for
- Early Neolithic monumental enclosures
The German archaeologist whose excavations from 1995 revealed the giant carved pillars of Göbekli Tepe, built around 9500 BCE.
What is Klaus Schmidt known for?
Klaus Schmidt was a German prehistorian with the German Archaeological Institute. From 1983 to 1991 he worked at Nevali Cori, another early Neolithic site in southeastern Turkey, and then searched the Sanliurfa region for similar sites, which led him to Göbekli Tepe in 1994. A 1960s survey had dismissed the site's broken slabs as a medieval cemetery; Schmidt recognized them as prehistoric.
From 1995 he excavated circular and oval enclosures of massive T-shaped limestone pillars, many carved with foxes, snakes, boars and birds, dating from about 9500 BCE, before pottery, metal or farming were established in the region. He interpreted the site as a ritual center built by hunter-gatherers and suggested that the effort of building it may have helped drive the adoption of agriculture. Some of his interpretations, such as the absence of houses, have been revised by later work.
He died in July 2014, aged 60. The site became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018.
Excavated Göbekli Tepe from 1995 and revealed its pillar enclosures.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeGöbekli Tepe
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'Klaus Schmidt (archaeologist)'Reference
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 'Göbekli Tepe'Reference
- German Archaeological Institute, Tepe Telegrams, 'Commemorating Klaus Schmidt (1953-2014)'Reference
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