8,000-year old structure unearthed on former Greek island of Imbros

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 21, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Greece, Near East, Turkey

A structure believed to be around 8,000-years-old was unearthed on the former Greek island of Imbros off the western coast of Turkey, according to the head of the excavation team speaking to Turkish media sources.

Credit: AA

“During this years’ excavation work, we have found a structure that we believe dates back to around 6,000 BC,” Burcin Erdogu from Trakya University, archaeologist and head of the excavation team said.

Excavations in the Ugurlu-Zeytinlik mound in the northwestern province of Canakkale’s Gokceada (Imbros) district had earlier unearthed a 7,000-year-old structure complex.

Erdogu said the new excavation will shed light on the history of Gokceada island, which dates back to 8,800 years.

“This structure is an important discovery both for the Aegean islands and western Anatolia,” she said. She added that the T-shaped monument is an obelisk–like, four-sided tapering structure, ending in pyramidion.

It is made of two pieces, interconnected by seven-metre-long walls. It is reminiscent of the standing stones in Gobeklitepe, an archaeological site located in Turkey's southeastern Sanliurfa province.

Erdogu said it was the general thought that public structures, such as temples, were disappearing through the near East. “The monumental structures seem like part of an area where people gathered and held some activities and rituals,” she added.

Source: Anadolu Agency [November 21, 2019]

48 early Byzantine oil lamps found in southeast Turkey

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 20, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Near East, Turkey

Archaeologists in southeastern Turkey's Diyarbakir have discovered 48 ancient lamps dating back around 1,500 years. The lamps were discovered during excavations at the Zerzevan Castle, located in the city's Cinar district.

Credit: AA

The excavations are being led by assistant professor Aytac Coskun from Dicle University's Department of Archaeology. He said the lamps, which are believed to be dating back to the Late Roman.Early Byzantine period, would provide more information about the castle's history.

Coskun said the place where the lamps were discovered could have been an ancient shop. "Each lamp has a different sign on it, including sun, stars or letters sometimes. They all have a different meaning," Coskun said.

The lamps were unearthed near a 1,700-year-old Roman-era underground Mithras temple, which was discovered in 2017.

The castle is situated on a 55,200-square-meter area surrounded with walls stretching 12 to 15 metres high and 1,200 metres long, along with a 21-metre high watchtower and guard castle.

Credit: AA

Excavations near the Demirolcek neighbourhood, located 13 kilometres from the Cinar district, have been ongoing since 2014 with the help of Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Diyarbakir Museum, the Diyarbakir governorship, the Cinar district governorship and Dicle University.

The vast space also includes a church, administrative buildings, ruins of ancient homes, grain and weapon storage facilities, an underground temple, underground shelters, rock tombs and water channels.

Previously, an underground church and shelter with a capacity to hold 400 people, houses and hidden passages were unearthed.

The Zerzevan Castle is situated along the ancient route of military premises and located on a 124-metre-high rocky hill in a strategic location between Amida and Dara. The settlement overlooks the entire valley and once controlled a large area on a key, ancient trade path. Once a strategic Roman border garrison town, the castle also witnessed the clashes between Romans and Sassanians.

Credit: AA

The first settlement was named "Samachi" and while it is not certain when it was built, the excavations are close to revealing its age. The castle walls were repaired at the time of Byzantine Emperor Anastasios (AD 491-518) and Justinian (AD 527-565) while some parts were completely rebuilt.

Source: Daily Sabah [November 20, 2019]

Roman-era sarcophagus with skeleton found in Turkey

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 20, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Near East, Turkey

A 2,000-year-old sarcophagus including skeleton of a woman was found during road construction work in central Turkey, according to a provincial official on Tuesday.

Credit: AA

Municipality workers in Corum province found the sarcophagus located around 70 centimeters (27 inches) deep from the surface, and informed the Corum Museum about the finding.

Visiting the scene together with police teams, museum experts examined the area and transferred the sarcophagus to the museum after a rescue excavation.

Credit: AA

The sarcophagus also included pieces of glass and a perfume bottle made of terracotta, along with the skeleton which was sent to the Anthropology Department of Hitit University in Corum for examination.

Provincial Head of Culture and Tourism Office Sumeyra Sengul told reporters that the 2.72-meter  long sarcophagus belongs to the Roman era.

Credit: AA

"When we opened the cover of the sarcophagus we saw a female skeleton. It is estimated that it belonged to an old woman," Sengul said, adding that there were also pieces of glass and a scent bottle.

"These remind us of burial gifts of the Roman era," she said and noted that such sarcophagus is rare in the region as it is made of local materials and possibly was made by "local stone masters".

Farmer discovers giant Byzantine-era pithos in central Turkey

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 15, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Near East, Turkey

A farmer plowing his field in Turkey's central Kırıkkale province discovered a giant ancient pithos jar from the Byzantine era.

Credit: AA

The farmer, who lives in the Koçubaba village in Balışeyh district discovered the jar after his tractor got locked on the jar. He immediately called the gendarmerie to inform officials about the find.

Credit: IHA

The jar, which was allegedly used to store food supply, was brought to the Kırıkkale Culture and Tourism Directorate after archaeologists extracted it.

Credit: IHA

"It was used as a cellar in the Byzantine era," Kırıkkale Culture and Tourism Director Aydın Demiröz told Anadolu Agency, adding that it will be exhibited in the directorate headquarters.

Source: Daily Sabah [November 15, 2019]

New structure found in Metropolis excavations

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 07, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Near East, Turkey

Excavations in the ancient Greek city of Metropolis in İzmir’s Torbalı district, carried out with the support of the Sabancı Foundation, continue to shed light on the secrets of history.

Credit: AA

Headed by Manisa Celal Bayar University Archaeology Professor Serdar Aybek, the works have been carried out with the participation of experts from Turkish and foreign universities. The team discovered an unknown structure this year.

The newly discovered structure provided access to important information about ancient architecture and engineering. Built on an area of approximately 400 square metres, the building bears the traces of a glorious life in Metropolis during the last years of the Roman Empire.

The building is well preserved and demonstrates that the craftsmen living in the city had advanced knowledge of architecture and engineering.

Geometric decorated mosaics unearthed under the marble slabs of the large courtyard, where the entrance is, reveal that the building was built on another structure damaged by a devastating earthquake.

In the newly discovered building, unlike the two large bath complexes in Metropolis, a small private bath called the “Balneum” was discovered.

Credit: AA

With its small spaces and capacity to serve only one family, the Metropolis Balneum, built sometimes in the fourth to fifth centuries, is presumed to be the property of a wealthy Metropolis resident or a ruler living in Metropolis.

Next to the marble courtyard of the Balneum there is a pool for up to three to four people. From this pool, there is access to the front room with another pool covered with colored marbles. This room provides access to a warm room through a narrow door. This leads to the warmest room of the Balneum, the central bathing section, with two or three bathtubs. This room is thought to be a sweating room comparable to today’s saunas.

The excavation team identified a unique engineering wonder system that showed that the space was heated from the floor and wall about 1,500 years ago.

“The advanced heating system we discovered in the Balneum reveals important clues about the life of the city and its people at that time," Aybek said. "The private bath structure, which we believe belonged to one of the notables of the city, shows that they had a heating system that we can consider very advanced even today and that an engineering study was carried out to ensure that clean and dirty water passes without contact with each other.”

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [November 07, 2019]

11,300-year-old temple unearthed in southeastern Turkey

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 02, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Near East, Turkey

An ancient temple with four stelae estimated to be over 11,000 years old has been unearthed in Mardin, southeastern Turkey.

Credit: Anadolu Agency

Ergul Kodas, an archaeologist at Artuklu University and advisor to the excavation area, told Anadolu Agency that the temple, built with small stones and hardened clay floors, belongs to the same period as Gobeklitepe, the famed “oldest temple in the world.”

Credit: Anadolu Agency

Credit: Anadolu Agency

“According to analysis, the temple has four steles. We think it's about 11,300 years old,” said Kodas. “Excavations are underway, but we have clearly revealed the steles. One of the four steles we uncovered was broken, but the other three were still preserved to this day as they were,” he added.

Monumental tomb inscription found in Parion

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 01, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Near East, Turkey

A memorial tomb inscription has been unearthed in the ancient city of Parion in the Biga district of northwestern province of Canakkale. Archaeologists believe that the inscription dates back 1,900 years.

Credit: AA

The head of Parion excavations and Ondokuz Mayis University Archaeology Department’s Professor Vedat Keles said that they were very excited by the finding.

Keles stated that they found this epigraphic work not in excavations but around the aqueduct at the entrance of the village, and added, “There are two ‘Greek’ names on the inscription. It is a tomb inscription dedicated to a child by a Roman and to his deceased mother. Probably this is a memorial tomb. The Greek names are ‘Diogenes’ and ‘Tykhe.’ So, this shows us the persistence of the Greek population after Parion became the Roman colony.”

Credit: AA

Parion, also called Parium, was an ancient Greek city founded in 709 BC. It had two major harbours during the Roman era and served as the main customs station for goods from the Aegean.

Archaeologists have been carrying out excavations at the ancient site since 2005. Sarcophagi, graves and ancient artifacts have been found in the area.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [November 01, 2019]

Lost Byzantine castle of Kibatos found under water

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on October 31, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Near East, Turkey, Underwater Archaeology

Within the scope of the Yalova Coasts Ancient Harbour and Underwater Survey, which was carried out in Altinova district of the northwestern Turkish province of Yalova for two years, the Byzantine castle of Kibatos (Civetot) was discovered.

Credit: AA

It was reported that the castle was built for the refuge of Anglo-Saxon soldiers, who escaped from the Battle of Hasting between the Crusader armies and the Seljuk armies in the First Crusade in 1069 but may have remained under the Hersek Lagoon as a result of severe earthquakes. The survey has been carried out with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and with the contributions of Altinova Municipality, Uludag University and the Turkish Historical Society.

Credit: AA

During the works carried out by a team made up of academic Serkan Gunduz, Isil Akalan Gunduz of Leicester University, Survey Engineer Ilke Ekioglu of Sinop University and a team of students, a sea castle spreading over an area of approximately 4,200 square meters was discovered on the coastline between Altinova and Karamursel district of Kocaeli. The castle was in 3.5 meters deep.

Credit: AA

Altinova Mayor Metin Oral said that the castle was discovered as a result of a two-year work and continued: "Although it was located in a very important place in the history scene, finding this castle, which could not be definitively localized, was one of the reasons for starting our research. It was known from the written documents that the Byzantine Emperor Alexius had built a castle in this area for Anglo-Saxon soldiers, who fled the Battle of Hasting in 1069, which changed the history of England. In order to find the castle, we have been searching on the opposite side of the Hereke Castle near Helenopolis, based on the studies we have done in the region for two years."

Credit: AA

"The structure, identified between Helenopolis (Hersek) and Karamursel, is thought to be the Kibatos-Civetot Castle because its architecture is very similar to the expressions in the written documents. Kibatos-Civetot Castle gained great importance in 1096 during the First Crusades. In 1095, just one year after the Pope’s call for the Crusade, the first campaign began. Alexios, who wanted to remove the Crusaders, who came to Constantinople, from the capital, sent them to Kibatos Castle. The armies came to the castle via Nicomedia from the land, and some went directly to the castle by sea. According to the various sources, their number was between 25,000-600,000 people."

Credit: AA

Oral said that they would start working to bring the castle to light. "The Crusades have had inevitable consequences for both the Christian world and the entire Muslim world. This battle is of great importance for European history. However, its importance for the Anatolian Seljuk history and Turkish people, unfortunately, is not known enough. It was the first great battle defeat of the Crusader history in Anatolia that would attack the Anatolian Seljuk State following the siege of Iznik (Nicaea) in 1097," he said.

The works to unearth Kibatos Castle will take about three years. The findings of the studies will be shared with the public.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [October 31, 2019]