Structure BD — the Western Terrace building

What is reported

Structure BD is described as a monumental rectangular building with slightly rounded corners, fitted with continuous benches and symmetrically placed T-shaped pillars, reported at about twelve pillars with four collapsed central ones. Some formal description of a related large public building on the upper western slope does not always print the 'BD' label explicitly, so the exact correspondence of labels, dimensions and loci should be treated as reported and subject to the excavation's own publication.

The Ribbed Man and his setting

BD's importance rests above all on what was found inside it. Announced in 2023, a gaunt, life-size seated male statue — the 'Ribbed Man' — was recovered here: about 2.3 metres tall, carved from a single limestone block, with a bald head, a realistic face, ribs and spine in deep incised lines, and the hands brought to the front near an explicitly carved phallus (rough date around 9400 BCE).

Crucially, the statue was not toppled or discarded but installed — set into position and fixed, seated, in a chamber that carried clear signs of ceremony. Around it excavators recorded a bench, stone plates and bowls read as offerings, human bone, and a vulture sculpture — the bird tied across this world to death. Because the figure stayed where its makers placed it, the relationship between statue, niche and surrounding objects can be studied together.

A tradition, not a one-off — and what is uncertain

The most widely held reading is that the Ribbed Man represents a deceased ancestor bound to the building, with the exposed ribs perhaps signalling death; this is an interpretation, while the skill and deliberate installation are not in question. In late 2025 a second full-bodied statue in the same pose was reported from the same complex, found near a wall niche holding a human skull — pointing to a developed tradition of the human figure rather than a single carving. That second figure is recent, reporting-grade material still awaiting full publication.

What remains open is the building's precise plan, phasing and dimensions, and how the sculpture assemblage relates stratigraphically to the architecture. Karahan Tepe is a live excavation and BD's definitive account has not yet been published.