Since no pottery fragments had been discovered in the area at all, the latter had to be true, but I had profound doubts about this being a hunting and gathering culture. I thought for instance of the pyramids of Egypt, whose construction had required large numbers of workers. The workers had to be fed, which required a system for the transportation and distribution of food, and order had to be maintained, which in turn meant soldiers and administrators. In other words, the construction of a single pyramid presupposed an entire state system and sophisticated economic structure.

Even though the monuments at Gobeklitepe were not on such an enormous scale, one had to make similar suppositions about the culture which had produced and erected these T-shaped menhirs. The relief carvings of animals on the stones were astonishingly beautiful, and must surely have been executed by a craftsman who had devoted his life only to this work.

Over the past twenty to thirty years archaeology has made incredible strides. Sites like Gobeklitepe are proving that human history is far more colourful, far more complex, and far more ancient than we had ever imagined. Archaeological excavation over the next century will certainly throw light on the ancient past to an extent we can hardly envisage today. Who knows what fascinating cultures will be revealed. As I returned from Urfa to Gaziantep, I looked at the ancient mounds scattered over the landscape in every direction, and wondered what they have to reveal about the people who lived there.

Sengul Aydingun is an archaeologist.