The Archaeological Park of the Colosseum is pleased to announce the opening of the exhibition «Göbeklitepe: The Enigma of a Sacred Place», an extraordinary event that will take the public on a journey to discover one of the oldest and most fascinating archaeological sites in the world, located in Şanlıurfa city in south-eastern Türkiye. The exhibition will be open to the public from October 25, 2024, to March 2, 2025, at the Colosseum, offering an immersive experience of the origins of civilisation.
The inauguration ceremony, held on October 24, 2024, at the Colosseum, saw the participation of prominent institutional figures. The Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye, Gökhan Yazgı, and the Director of the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, Alfonsina Russo, opened the exhibition, highlighting the importance of this international cultural collaboration. At the heart of the event was the value of cooperation between Italy and Türkiye in promoting and preserving the world’s archaeological heritage.
Göbeklitepe, a Neolithic site dating back over 11,000 years, is considered the oldest monumental structure humanity has built. It revolutionised our understanding of human history and the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to settled, agricultural ones. Its majestic «T-shaped” pillars, carved with mysterious symbols and animal figures, witness the complexity of early human communities and their rituals.
At the exhibition’s opening ceremony, Gökhan Yazgı, Türkiye’s Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, said, “Göbeklitepe and the broader Taş Tepeler region it belongs to present the very first monuments humanity has ever built. This area, with its various building structures, is a witness to the beginnings of sedentary life, one of the most important transformations of human history. We are pleased to display some of the region’s findings at another majestic human heritage site, the famous Colosseum. I sincerely thank our Italian counterparts for their vision of promoting and preserving humanity’s historical heritage.”
The exhibition will offer visitors a unique and engaging experience through a rich display of multimedia content and 3D reconstructions, allowing them to delve into the life of this ancient civilisation. Several artefacts from Göbeklitepe will be on display, including reproductions of the monumental pillars and detailed reconstructions of the circular complexes found at the site, utilising the latest visualisation technologies.
The exhibition has been curated by a team of Italian and international experts, including Alfonsina Russo, Roberta Alteri, Daniele Fortuna, and Federica Rinaldi, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye and the Embassy of Türkiye in Rome. The initiative is part of international cultural celebrations to raise public awareness about preserving the world’s archaeological heritage.
In addition to the physical artefacts that arrived at the Colosseum directly from Türkiye, the exhibition offers interactive content such as virtual tours and video insights that allow visitors to explore the site from various perspectives. The event will also feature thematic conferences and seminars, engaging international archaeology and art history experts. Recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018, Göbeklitepe continues to intrigue archaeologists worldwide, offering unique insights into the origins of religion and monumental architecture. The exhibition at the Colosseum represents one of the most significant opportunities for the Italian public to connect with this discovery, which has rewritten many previously accepted historical concepts.
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