Pillar 43 from Building D

One of the most spectacularly adorned pillars at Göbekli Tepe is P43 in Building D. It is decorated on three of its sides. The west-facing broad side is the most lavishly decorated. It features animal depictions and abstract motifs. In the upper part of the composition there are three handbag-shaped objects (architectural structures?), each of which is accompanied by a wild animal, below which there is a frieze with geometric motifs, and a sitting vulture with a sphere balanced on its wing. Another bird, possibly an ibis, is depicted together with a small snake. Next to these figures are two H symbols, one of which is rotated 90 degrees. The narrative is completed on the adjoining shaft by depictions of (among others) a fox, a scorpion and the head of a bird. Most notable is the figure of a headless male with an erect penis.