Documentary depicts ancient Göbeklitepe as idol center from Abrahamic age

A documentary prepared jointly by TRT, the Diyarbakır Governor's Office and the Turkish Development Ministry has claimed that the ancient statues in the world's oldest-known temple were constructed by the Prophet Abraham's father, Terah, prompting anger from archaeologists who say the claim is erroneous and misleading.

The documentary, which was produced to introduce the cultural heritage of the southeastern province Diyarbakır, claims that a T-shape statue in Göbeklitepe with a fox motif was destroyed by Abraham.

During a part of the video in which the idol is destroyed, the narrator says: "Who can tell us that it was not Aser [Terah], father of Prophet Abraham, who built the statues in Göbeklitepe? Or can we claim that the temple where the idols that Prophet Abraham broke was not Göbeklitepe?"

Göbeklitepe has been dated to 12,000 years ago, well before the time in which Abraham is said to have lived.

Archeologist and publisher Nezih Başgelen said the purpose behind the move was to target Göbeklitepe.

"Within the framework of results that were obtained through scientific methods, Göbeklitepe dates back to 11,800-8,600 BCE. Here we see that there is a gap of around seven to eight thousand years between the date that scientific research has proved and the dates of religious references. Therefore, from this perspective, there are many problems in depicting Göbeklitepe as a communal site related to Prophet Abraham," said Başgelen. 

"Showing the statues as idols that were broken is dangerous targeting," he said.

Located in Örencik, 18 kilometers from the center of the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, Göbeklitepe was first discovered in 1963 during surface surveys carried out by researchers from the...