3 ms·
The Mystery of Göbekli Tepe
- ncmncm 6y agoTo me the most interesting thing about Göbekli Tepe, among myriad interesting things, is that the sea level at the time it was built was 60 meters(!) below its present level[1], exposing vast coastal areas now drowned[2], and at the time was rising at a rate approaching a meter per generation[3]. Probably most interesting settlements between then and the Sumerian Uruk (Iraq) we know are now under at least tens of meters of seawater. We know that there are broad built-up areas under the Gulf of Cambay, off India, likely connected to a precursor of the Harappan Indus River Valley civilization we know. Australian Aboriginal oral tradition records extremely disruptive territorial consequences of sea level rise in the Sahul region between what is now Australia and New Guinea. Some connect that established, devastating sea level rise to oral traditions of a worldwide flood recorded in ancient mythology. Confirmation of such a connection will depend on future exploration of any drowned settlements identified. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_level_rise#/media/File:Post-Glacial_Sea_Level.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_level_rise#/media/File:Pos... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundaland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundaland [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas#Sea_level https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas#Sea_level