Tom Knox - The Genesis Secret

'Sorry?'

'Last week we finally managed to carbon date some charcoal that we found on a megalith.'

Rob wrote this down. 'And it's ten or eleven thousand years old, right? That's what the Trib article said?'

'Actually that report was inaccurate. Even carbon dating is only an estimate. To get a truer date we compared the radiocarbon analysis with some of the flints we found, Nemrik points and Byblos points-types of arrowheads and so forth. Taking these together with other data we think that Gobekli is actually closer to twelve thousand years old.'

'Hence the excitement?'

Christine glanced at him, pushing dark hair back from her clear eyes. Then she laughed. 'I think Franz wants you to look at his lizard.'

'Wolf,' corrected Breitner, standing by another half buried T-shaped pillar. At the foot of this pillar, attached to the upright of a stone, was a sculpture of an animal about two foot long. It was delicately chiselled and looked strangely new. Its stone jaw was growling at the floor. Rob looked at Breitner and at the Turkish worker just beyond him. The Turkish man was glaring at Breitner with what appeared to be anger, or even hatred. It was a shocking expression. When the man saw Rob looking at him, he turned and abruptly climbed a ladder. Rob glanced back at Breitner, who was stoutly unaware of this little exchange.

'We only found this yesterday.'

'What is it?'

'I think it's a wolf, judging by the paws,'

'And I think it's a crocodile,' said Christine.

Breitner laughed. 'Do you see?' He put his spectacles back on and they glinted in the bright sun, and for a moment Rob felt a sudden admiration for this man: so delighted and enthused by his work.

Breitner went on, 'You and me and these workers, we are the first people to see this since…the end of the Ice Age.'

Rob blinked. That was a truly impressive thought.

'This carving is so new to us,' Christine added. 'No one knows what it is. You are seeing something very important for the first time. There's no one to interpret it for you. Your guess as to what this might be is as good as anyone's.'

Rob stared at the jaw of the stone creature. 'It looks like a cat to me. Or a mad rabbit.'

Rubbing his chin, Breitner replied: 'A feline? You know I hadn't thought of that. Some kind of wildcat…'

'Can I put all this in my article?'

'Ja, naturlich.' Breitner said. But he wasn't smiling as he said it. 'And now I think-some tea.'

Rob nodded: he was thirsty. Breitner led the way back through the maze of covered pits, open pits, tarpaulined enclosures and bucket-carrying workers. Over the last rise was a flatter area of open-sided tents laid with red carpets. A samovar in one corner produced three tulip-shaped glasses of sweet Turkish cay. The open tents afforded a spectacular view: beyond them were the endless yellow plains and shallow dusty hills undulating towards Syria and Iraq.

For several minutes they sat and chatted. Breitner was explaining how the area surrounding Gobekli used to be much more fertile-not the desert it had since become. 'Ten or twelve thousand years ago this area was much less arid. In fact it was beautiful-a pastoral landscape. Herds of game, orchards of wild fruit trees, rivers full of fish…That's why you see carvings on the stones of animals-creatures that don't live here now.'

Rob noted this down. He wanted to know more-but then a couple of Turkish workers approached and asked Breitner a question in German. Rob knew just enough of the language to glean the meaning: they wanted to dig a much deeper trench to access a new megalith. Breitner was evidently worried about the safety of such a serious excavation. Eventually Breitner sighed, shrugged at Rob, and went off to sort things out. As he went Rob saw that one of the workers was scowling: a strange, dark expression. There was definitely a tension here. Why? He wondered if he should mention his suspicions now that he and Christine were alone. The noise of the dig was muffled at this distance-all Rob could hear were little tinklings of trowels and spades, small noises occasionally carried over, on the hot desert wind. He was about to ask his question when Christine said, 'So what do you think of Gobekli?'

'It's incredible. Of course.'

'But do you know how incredible?'

'I think so. Don't I?'

She looked at him sceptically.

'Why don't you tell me, then?'

Christine sipped at her tulip-shaped glass of tea, 'Think about it this way, Rob. What you have to remember is…the age of the place. Twelve thousand years old.'

'And…?'

'And recall what men were doing then.'

'What do you mean?

'The men who built this place were huntergatherers.'

'Cavemen?'

'In a way, yes.' She gave him a direct, earnest look. 'Before Gobekli Tepe, we had no idea that such early primitive men could build something like this, could create art and sophisticated architecture. And intricate religious rituals.'

'Because they were just cavemen?'

'Precisely. Gobekli Tepe represents a revolution in our perceptions. A total revolution.' Christine finished the last of her tea. 'It changes the way we must think about the entire history of mankind. It's more important than any other dig anywhere in the world in the last fifty years and one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in history.'

Rob was intrigued, and very impressed. He also felt a little like a schoolboy being lectured. 'How did they make it?'

'That is the question. Men with bows and arrows. Who didn't even have pottery. Or farming. How did they build this enormous temple?'

'Temple?'

'Oh, yes, most probably it's a temple. We've found no evidence of domestic habitation, no sign of the most rudimentary settlement, just stylized images of the hunt. Celebratory or ritualistic imagery. Possibly we have found niches for bones, for funeral rites. Breitner therefore thinks it is a temple, the world's first religious building, designed to celebrate the hunt, and to venerate the dead.' She smiled calmly. 'And I think he is right.'

Rob put down his pen, and thought about Breitner's twinkling and merry expression. 'He is certainly a cheery kind of guy, isn't he?'

'Wouldn't you be? He is the luckiest archaeologist in the world. He is uncovering the most spectacular site.'

Rob nodded, and took more notes. Christine's enthusiasm was nearly as infectious as Breitner's. And her explanations were more lucid. Rob still didn't quite share their wonderment at the 'total revolution in perceptions' Gobekli represented, but he was beginning to anticipate a very dramatic article. Page two of the main paper, easy. Better still-a big feature in a colour supplement with some vivid colour pictures of the carvings. Moody shots of the stones at night. Photos of the workers covered in grime…

Then he remembered Radevan's reaction to the mention of the place, and the worker's angry glare. And Breitner's slight change of mood when they talked about Rob's article. And the tension about the trench. Christine was over by the samovar, filling their glasses with more hot sweet black tea. He wondered whether to say anything. As she returned, he said, 'Funny thing is, though, Christine, I know this dig is amazing and all that. But does everyone feel the same way?'

'What do you mean?'

'Well…I just…got some vibe from the locals…some real attitude. Not so good. This place upsets some people. My driver for instance.'

Christine perceptibly stiffened. 'Go on?

'My cab driver.' Rob tapped his chin with his pen. 'Radevan. He got really angry about Gobekli when I mentioned it last night. And it's not just him. There's an atmosphere. And Breitner seems…ambivalent. Once or twice when I discussed my piece with him this morning he seemed less than keen on me being here…Even if he does laugh a lot.' He paused. 'You'd think he'd want the world to know, wouldn't you? What he's doing here? Yet he doesn't seem comfortable.'