Scientists have created an incredible 12,000-year-old solar calendar that they believe could be the oldest solar calendar in the world. It was discovered at the Göbekli Tepe archaeological site in southern Turkey.

The timing system is carved into stone pillars and could be a memorial to the devastating impact of a comet 13,000 years ago, which triggered a “little ice age” lasting over 1,000 years.

Göbekli Tepe is often referred to as the first temple in the world. It dates back to 10,000 BC and is older than the invention of writing.

Its builders are said to have been hunters and gatherers who somehow constructed huge stone circles with pillars weighing up to 20 tons, similar to those at the 5,000-year-old Stonehenge.

Covered in intricate carvings, the site has long puzzled archaeologists, but new research suggests it may be a calendar used to record lunar and solar cycles.

“It appears that the inhabitants of Göbekli Tepe were keen skywatchers, which is to be expected given that their world had been devastated by a comet impact,” said Dr Martin Sweatman of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering, who led the research.

The key lies in the V-shaped symbols carved into the pillars. Sweatman interprets each “V” as a single day, with his team counting an entire solar year of 365 days on a single pillar.

The calendar consists of 12 lunar months plus an additional 11 days to adjust for the solar year – a system known as the lunisolar calendar.

The addition of days to keep a calendar in sync with the seasons was originally traced to a much later time in history.

The calendar could precede other known lunisolar calendars by thousands of years and change our understanding of ancient timekeeping and astronomical knowledge.

The summer solstice seems to have had a special meaning for the people of Göbekli Tepe, as the day was marked with a unique symbol: a “V” worn around the neck by a bird-like creature, probably representing a constellation that was visible during the solstice at that time.

Due to its location and age, Göbekli Tepe lies at a crucial point in human history – the transition between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods.

This was a time of tremendous change as people began to settle in permanent settlements and develop agriculture.

The existence of such an advanced timekeeping system at this crucial time suggests that astronomical knowledge may have played a crucial role in this transition.

In the “Little Ice Age” caused by the comet, many large animal species were wiped out, forcing humanity to adapt.

Some scientists suggest that these changes may have spurred the development of agriculture and more complex societies – crucial steps in the birth of civilization as we know it.

“This event may have marked the beginning of a civilization by giving rise to a new religion and stimulating the development of agriculture to cope with the cold climate,” explains Dr. Sweatman.

“It is possible that their attempts to record what they saw were the first steps toward the development of writing thousands of years later.”