New research has provided a new twist on the ancient carvings at Göbekli Tepe, a 12,000-year-old archaeological site in southern Turkey, suggesting that they may represent the world’s oldest known solar calendar. The researchers argue these carvings, found on stone pillars, were created as a memorial to a catastrophic comet strike that profoundly impacted early human civilization. The discovery offers new insights into the astronomical knowledge of prehistoric people and their ability to track time. Göbekli Tepe: A Monument to Cosmic Catastrophe? Göbekli Tepe, often considered the world’s oldest known temple complex, features a series of enclosures adorned with intricately carved symbols and images. The site has long intrigued archaeologists, but a new research paper by Martin Sweatman of the University of Edinburgh proposes that some of these carvings might represent a form of astronomical record-keeping, possibly linked to the devastating cosmic event. Sweatman suggests that the markings on one of Göbekli Tepe’s stone pillars could have been created to commemorate a comet strike that occurred nearly 13,000 years ago, around 10,850 BC. Read moreSection: NewsHistory & ArchaeologyAncient PlacesAsiaImportant EventsRead Later