Archaeologist Klaus Schmidt and colleagues estimated that at least 500 people were needed to quarry, transport, and erect Göbekli Tepe's 10- to 50-ton stone pillars, some moved from locations as far as a quarter-mile away.
Notes on verification
Verbatim match to original 2008 Archaeology Magazine source citing Schmidt's estimate; corroborated by multiple independent sources, though later DAI research offers more conservative/refined figures on distance and labor.
Sources
- The World's First Temple - Archaeology Magazine Archive (archive.archaeology.org)
- Gobekli Tepe: The World's First Temple? - Smithsonian Magazine (smithsonianmag.com)
- https://www.dainst.blog/the-tepe-telegrams/ (dainst.blog)
- https://answersingenesis.org/archaeology/ancient-technology/overturning-expectations-about-ancient-man/ (answersingenesis.org)