Archaeologists found floors made of burnt lime and clay inside the stone circles at Göbekli Tepe, the earliest such floors ever discovered.
Notes on verification
Core claim about burnt lime/clay terrazzo floors in the stone circles is well-corroborated by academic and encyclopedic sources, including a peer-reviewed article. However, the 'earliest ever discovered' superlative is only loosely supported, with one source phrasing it as 'one of the earliest' rather than definitively the first.
Sources
- The World's First Temple - Archaeology Magazine Archive (archive.archaeology.org)
- https://www.worldhistory.org/article/234/gobekli-tepe---the-worlds-first-temple/ (worldhistory.org)
- https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-archaeological-journal/article/geometry-and-architectural-planning-at-gobekli-tepe-turkey/2CBAF416E33AFE6496B73710A2F42FF9 (cambridge.org)
- https://thearchitecturearchives.com/2026/05/21/gobekli-tepe-turkey-pre-neolithic-temple/ (thearchitecturearchives.com)