Category Archives: ASIA

Researchers discovered clay tablets with ancient cuneiform writing, a game board, and large structural remains in Kurd Qaburstan

Researchers discovered clay tablets with ancient cuneiform writing, a game board, and large structural remains in Kurd Qaburstan

Researchers discovered clay tablets with ancient cuneiform writing, a game board, and large structural remains in Kurd Qaburstan

Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida (UCF), and a researchers team have made important discoveries at Kurd Qaburstan, an urban-sized Bronze Age site in northern Mesopotamia, southwest of Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Researchers have made important discoveries, the objects date to about 1800 BCE, and include clay tablets with ancient cuneiform  writing, a game board, and large structural remains, which could provide a wealth of information about this Middle Bronze Age city and shed light on Mesopotamia’s hidden history.

The clay tablets are the first of their kind found in the region and are still being interpreted. Studying the clay tablets may help historians understand the ancient city’s relationship to neighboring cities in the Middle Bronze Age – a period of northern Iraq’s history that is poorly understood.

For example, by studying people’s names, word choice and writing styles, scholars may better understand literacy in the region and the city’s cultural identity, Earley-Spadoni says in her fieldwork summary.

“We hope to find even more historical records that will help us tell the story of [the city] from the perspective of its own people rather than relying only on accounts written by their enemies,” Earley-Spadoni says. “While we know a great deal about the development of writing in southern Iraq, far less is known about literacy in northern Mesopotamian cities, especially near Erbil where Kurd Qaburstan is located.”

Today, Mesopotamia encompasses eastern Syria, southeastern Türkiye, and most of Iraq. Its name comes from the Greek for “between rivers” referring to the area between the Tigris River and the Euphrates.It is often regarded as the birthplace of urban civilization. These cities, preserved as towering tells, mounds formed by centuries of accumulated cultural debris, have captivated scholars for generations.

One of three clay cuneiform tablets discovered at the Middle Bronze Age site of Kurd Qaburstan in northeast Iraq. It was found in a debris-filled corridor in the lower town palace. Early interpretations of this tablet suggests dramatic events and possibly ancient warfare.

“We know quite a bit about Mesopotamian cities in the south, and that’s considered the traditional heartland of cities,” Earley-Spadoni says. “When people think about where cities first arose, they imagine cities in southern Iraq, like Uruk. We seek to fill in this gap in the scholarship by investigating a large urban site, one of the few that’s ever been investigated in northern Iraq.”

Earley-Spadoni and researchers have been working in two primary areas: the northwest residential neighborhoods and a newly discovered administrative complex identified as a lower town palace, which was theorized to exist based on findings made in 2022.

Researchers used technologies such as magnetometry, which allows researchers to peer through the ground to see architectural plans, to help excavate the site.

The research is valuable its own right and helps shed light on regional history and worldwide heritage, she says.

“The focus of the research is the organization of ancient cities, and it’s specifically the organization of Kurd Qaburstan,” Earley-Spadoni says. “You may have heard of King Hammurabi, who erected the famous law code. So, this is about that same time almost 4,000 years ago.

We decided that this would be an interesting place to investigate what it was like to be an everyday person at a city during the Middle Bronze Age, which has been an understudied topic. People like to excavate palaces and temples, and very few residential areas have been excavated.”

Standing mudbrick architecture from a 10-meter by 10-meter excavation in the Kurd Qaburstan lower-town palace, view to north.

Excavations in the palace revealed monumental architecture, human remains and evidence of destruction, suggesting a significant historical event. The complex, identified through geophysical surveys, is being excavated to establish its characteristics and better understand its function.

Digging in the northwest neighbourhoods revealed exterior courtyards, clay drainpipes, cups, plates, bowls and storage jars. Fine details on the pottery, and animal remains which include both game and domesticated animals suggest that there was a greater degree of wealth among ordinary residents than previously assumed for ancient Mesopotamian cities.

It is possible that the 4,000-year-old city is the hidden city of Qabra, referenced in Old Babylonian monuments.

“Kurd Qaburstan is believed to be ancient Qabra, an important regional center mentioned in the records of other city-states,” Earley-Spadoni says. “The presence of  writing, monumental architecture, and other administrative artifacts in the lower town palace further supports this identification since the site must have been an important city of its time.”

The city’s historical importance could be even greater if it is identified as Qabra, a major regional center referenced in Old Babylonian monuments like the famed Stele of Dadusha, according to Earley-Spadoni.

“The first of the three tablets was discovered in a trash-filled deposit along with building rubble and human remains,” she says. “Its context suggests dramatic events, possibly evidence of ancient warfare. We hope our work in 2025 will tell us more about this story.”

The research and excavation efforts are funded through the U.S. National Science Foundation and in partnership with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The work occurred from May to July 2024, with previous work conducted from 2013 to 2023 by a team from Johns Hopkins University that included Earley-Spadoni.

Game Bone Stones from a Roman Military Strategy Game Found in Hadrianopolis Ancient City, Türkiye

Game Bone Stones from a Roman Military Strategy Game Found in Hadrianopolis Ancient City, Türkiye

Game Bone Stones from a Roman Military Strategy Game Found in Hadrianopolis Ancient City, Türkiye

During the excavations in Hadrianopolis Ancient City in Eskipazar district of Karabük, 2 bone game stones belonging to the military strategy game, which are thought to belong to the 5th century, were unearthed.

Hadrianopolis in Paphlagonia was a city in southwestern Asia Minor, located approximately 3km west of the modern town of Eskipazar in the Karabuk Province.

The city was named after the Roman emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD. The city of Hadrianopolis is also known as Caesarea and Proseilemmene and is famous for being the birthplace of two saints: Alypios the Stylite, and Stylianos of Paphlagonia.

Ongoing excavation efforts, led by associate professor Ersin Çelikbaş from the Department of Archaeology at Karabük University’s Faculty of Literature, continue at the ancient city, which was used as a settlement during the late Chalcolithic, Roman, and early Byzantine periods.

The ancient city of Hadrianopolis is called “Zeugma of Black Sea” because of its mosaics depicting many animals such as horses, elephants, panthers, deer and griffons.

The last discovery, together with previous findings, also points to the role of Hadrianopolis as a Roman military base in southern Paphlagonia.

The site is thought to have been a Roman garrison, and it is located not far from the eastern edge of the great Roman Empire. In his previous statements, Çelikbaş had said that Rome had built this military base on the easternmost borders of the empire to defend against invasions from the Black Sea region.

Researchers have previously discovered an iron Roman cavalry mask dating to the 3rd century AD in the region.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ersin Çelikbaş stated that they found 2 game stones and said, ‘These bone objects are in the form of lentils and discs. There is a 4-armed symbol on one stone and an 8-armed symbol on the other. These symbols show us that these stones could be game stones.’

Explaining that there were games played with bone stones in the past and that the stones they found belonged to a military strategy game, Çelikbaş continued as follows:

‘The discovery of strategy games in Hadrianopolis further concretises the existence of the military unit here because it is known that the strategy games played with bone stones in antiquity were ‘Ludus Latrunculi’ and ‘Doudecim Scripta’. Both games are based on a strategic basis.

The ancient cities where these games emerged are also frequently encountered in Anatolia. It is also known that these games were strategy games that soldiers loved to play. Finds of this type reinforce the existence of a military unit in Hadrianopolis for many centuries. They clearly support the existence of a Roman headquarters, a Roman unit, and a Roman fortress in Hadrianopolis from the 2nd to the 5th century BC.’

Ludus latrunculi was a two-player strategy  board game played throughout the Roman Empire. There are two rows of pieces facing each other, with sixteen pieces for each of the two players. The objective of the game is to seize every piece that the opposition has.

 Doudecim Scripta was a board game popular during the Roman Empire. This Roman game is a relative, and probably ancestor, of backgammon. It is played on a board of three rows of twelve columns of playing spaces, and its name means “game of twelve lines”.

Manot Cave yielded evidence for ritualistic gathering 35,000 years ago, the earliest on the Asian continent

Manot Cave yielded evidence for ritualistic gathering 35,000 years ago, the earliest on the Asian continent

Manot Cave yielded evidence for ritualistic gathering 35,000 years ago, the earliest on the Asian continent

Archaeological research at the Manot Cave in what is now the Galilee in northern Israel has uncovered evidence of ritualistic gatherings dating back 35,000 years. This important discovery is shedding new light on the earliest inhabitants of the Asian continent.

Manot Cave was used for thousands of years as a living space for Neanderthals and humans at different times. In 2015, researchers from Case Western Reserve helped identify a 55,000-year-old skull that provided physical evidence of interbreeding between Neanderthal and homo sapiens, with characteristics of each clearly visible in the skull fragment.

Manot Cave may have once been a ritualistic gathering site for early humans some 35,000 years ago, likely making it the earliest ritual site in Southwest Asia.

An important development in anthropological research, this discovery was just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal. Under the direction of three Israeli researchers, the project included international partners, including a team from the School of Dental Medicine (CWRU) at Case Western Reserve University, which has been working at the location for more than ten years.

The study found that the cave residents resided nearer to the entrance. The ritual chamber, however, was located approximately eight stories below the cave’s entrance. A carved rock that resembled a turtle shell was found inside the chamber; it seemed to have been placed there on purpose in a niche. The carving was similar to the oldest cave paintings in France.

Stone tools, butchered animal bones, and other artifacts from regular human occupations between 46,000 and 33,000 years ago have been previously excavated at various locations close to the entrance of Manot Cave. That includes the time spent at the back of the cave performing group rituals.

Activity in the ritual chamber dates to a time when artifacts in the living areas display influences of Europe’s ancient Aurignacian culture.

An engraved rock with a carved symbolic turtle was placed in a niche in the ritual space.

“It may have represented a totem or spiritual figure,” said Omry Barzilai, Head of Material Culture PaleoLab at the University of Haifa and the Israel Antiquities Authority, and team leader, in a press release. “Its special location, far from the daily activities near the cave entrance, suggests that it was an object of worship.”

The cavern has natural acoustics favorable for large gatherings, and evidence of wood ash on nearby stalagmites suggests prehistoric humans carried torches to light the chamber.

Though it is not yet known what rituals took place in this specific chamber, there is evidence that cultures, such as the Mayans, used caves for rituals like human sacrifice.

Manot Cave was discovered in 2008 by workers building condominiums in a mountain resort close to Israel’s border with Lebanon.

Case Western Reserve’s School of Dental Medicine got involved in the excavation in 2012.  Students from Case Western Reserve’s School of Dental Medicine began assisting archeological teams because of their ability to identify bones from rocks.

“Most people would not suspect that a dental school would be involved in an archaeological excavation,” said Mark Hans, professor and chair of orthodontics at the dental school, in a press release. “But one of the things that are preserved very well in ancient skeletons are teeth because they are harder than bone.

There is a whole field of dental anthropology. As an orthodontist, I am interested in human facial growth and development, which, it turns out, is exactly what is needed to identify anthropological specimens.”

Experts from a variety of disciplines have collaborated internationally on the Manot Cave project. One of them, Linda Spurlock, a physical anthropologist from Kent State University, has added a visual element to the findings by sharing her knowledge of reconstructing human faces from skulls.

Evidence of Early Forms of Pottery Production and 8,000-Year-Old Buildings Belonging to the Elite of the Time Discovered in Iraqi Kurdistan

Evidence of Early Forms of Pottery Production and 8,000-Year-Old Buildings Belonging to the Elite of the Time Discovered in Iraqi Kurdistan

Evidence of Early Forms of Pottery Production and 8,000-Year-Old Buildings Belonging to the Elite of the Time Discovered in Iraqi Kurdistan

Archaeologists from the University of Udine have uncovered two ancient human settlements in the Rovia sub-district of Dohuk province in Iraqi Kurdistan, thought to date back some 8,000 years.

The discovery took place at the site of Kanispan, a Neolithic settlement from the 7th millennium BC.

Late Chalcolithic kiln at the Asingeran site, view from the north.

The province’s Director of Antiques and Heritage, Bekas Brifkani, told Shafaq News Agency that the sites were discovered in Asinkran and Kanisban areas, located in the Nafkor plain near the Rovia district in eastern Duhok.

Important information about the earliest agricultural societies and how they evolved into more complex communities has been uncovered by these excavations, which were conducted as part of the Asingeran Excavation Project in cooperation with the Directorate of Antiquities of Dohuk.

The project, coordinated by Marco Iamoni, is part of the Humanities and Cultural Heritage Department of the University of Udine. ‘The information obtained in Asingeran and the new Kanispan site is exceptional,’ emphasizes Professor Iamoni, lecturer in Archaeology and Art History of Ancient Western Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Some of the oldest methods of grain processing and  pottery making, which date back more than 8,000 years, were found in Asinkran.

Meanwhile, evidence of early agricultural specialization and craft production was discovered at the Kanisban site, a Neolithic settlement from the 7th millennium BCE.

At the nearby Asinkran site, two monumental buildings dating back about 7,000 years were uncovered. “These buildings, the Rectangular Mudbrick Building and the White Building were constructed on a high mound and likely served as residences for the social elite of that era,” he explained.

Large buildings at Asingeran indicate the presence of sophisticated social structures from very early times, while early evidence of  ceramic production and cereal cultivation at Kanispan represents a significant milestone in prehistoric archaeology.

The project’s primary objective is to determine how early egalitarian agricultural societies developed into more complex communities with social stratification and labor specialization. Modern societies are thought to have been influenced by this transformational model.

The rectangular mud brick building is visible in the foreground.

Brifkani described the discovery as an “important step” in reconstructing the history of human development in the region, highlighting the Kurdistan Region’s significance as “one of the main centers of early civilization.”

The results will be examined in specialized labs using DNA, paleobotanical, and ceramic analyses. These studies are being carried out in partnership with the National Museum of Denmark and the universities of Padua and Bologna.

The findings will shed light on the subsistence and social organization systems in the Navkur plain and aid in reconstructing the social structure of the area’s first communities and their agricultural practices.

The Asingeran site shows a continuous occupation from the Ceramic Neolithic to the early 3rd millennium BCE, with a significant period of reoccupation in the 2nd millennium BCE. In addition to the two large buildings mentioned, the area has revealed traces of Ottoman-era dwellings (1500–1800 CE), including small stone houses, hearths, and domestic ovens.

2,000-Year-Old Unique Composite Fish Scaled Armor Found in Ancient Tomb

2,000-Year-Old Unique Composite Fish Scaled Armor Found in Ancient Tomb

2,000-Year-Old Unique Composite Fish Scaled Armor Found in Ancient Tomb

Chinese researchers have recently found fish-scaled armor in the tomb of Liu He, Marquis of Haihun from the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25), in Nanchang, the capital of eastern China’s Jiangxi province.

According to the Provincial Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics, this is the first instance of composite armor—made from a combination of materials like lacquered iron, copper, and leather—discovered during the archaeological excavation of the Han Dynasty sites. It demonstrates the highest level of armor-making practices of that period.

The armor’s smallest piece is 1 centimeter wide and about 0.2 centimeters thick.

Yang Jun, head of the excavation team, told Xinhua that these armor pieces were found in the tomb of Liu He in the west part of the outer coffin, where weaponry was installed.

After more than two years of meticulous work, researchers have restored approximately 6,000 armor plates from among those unearthed in the weapons section of the tomb, alongside knives and swords, according to Yang Jun.

“The smallest plate is just 1 cm wide and about 0.2 cm thick, making it the smallest scale armor plate unearthed from Han Dynasty sites,” said Bai Rongjin, an expert in armor protection and research from the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social  Sciences.

The armor pieces unearthed from the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun.

According to Bai, scale armor is mostly found in Han Dynasty tombs and is usually made with a single material, with each plate measuring 4 to 10 cm in width.

The smaller the armor plates, the more plates are required to assemble the armor — reflecting the increasing complexity of its production process.

The process of removing roughly 6,000 pieces of armor from the boxes took archaeologists two years.

According to the cultural conservation team’s initial restoration research, the armor was made from materials that were lacquered in leather, bronze, and iron.

The pieces of fish-scaled armor were discovered with swords, according to Yang, at the Marquis of Haihun’s tomb. It has been assumed that the items were packaged in lacquer boxes based on the presence of patent leather traces on the premises. However, when the tomb was unearthed, it was discovered that the lacquer boxes had rotted, and the armor and swords appeared piled up.

“The tomb is known to have undergone earthquakes and the rising groundwater level caused by the intrusion of the Poyang Lake, China’s largest freshwater lake. The burial environment has made the armor pieces thin and fragile,” said Yang, in a statement to Global Times.

The team decided to box up the cultural relics and carry out conservation research through laboratory archaeology thereafter.

The fish-scaled armor discovered in the Marquis of Haihun’s tomb was composed of iron, copper, and leather, in contrast to the Han Dynasty’s custom of using only one material for armor. For the first time, a composite design of this kind from the Han Dynasty has been discovered.

The discovery of the armor from the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun provides important material data for the study of armor-making techniques in the Han Dynasty.

Cover Image Credit: Armor pieces from the tomb of the Marquis Haihun Photo: Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

Discovery Shedding Light on Ancient Maritime Trade: 1,500-Year-Old Trade Shipwreck Found off Türkiye’s Ayvalık

Discovery Shedding Light on Ancient Maritime Trade: 1,500-Year-Old Trade Shipwreck Found off Türkiye’s Ayvalık

Discovery Shedding Light on Ancient Maritime Trade: 1,500-Year-Old Trade Shipwreck Found off Türkiye’s Ayvalık

‘Turkish Sunken-Ships Project: Blue Heritage’, a 1500-year-old trade shipwreck was found off the coast of  Ayvalık district of Balıkesir.

Under the direction of associate professor Harun Özdaş, director of the Underwater Research Center (SUDEMER) at Dokuz Eylül University, the mapping of the underwater cultural heritage of the Ayvalık region was carried out with approval from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The research was carried out using domestically developed robotic underwater vehicles.

The shipwreck, located approximately 2.5 miles off the coast of Ayvalık, was identified by associate professor Nilhan Kızıldağ, the deputy director of SUDEMER, and her team. The wreck is dated to the late fifth century A.D. based on preliminary findings.

It was stated that the wreck containing approximately 10 thousand ceramic dishwrecks is ‘the largest plate wreck found in the Aegean and Mediterranean’.

It was stated that the find, which shows the plate trade on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, due to its location in open waters, the wreck has been exceptionally well-preserved.

Özdaş explained that they detected some anomalies at a depth of 43 meters and gave the following information:

‘We made dives to these anomalies with our high-tech devices and determined the location of the wreck. This discovery was made thanks to our advanced robotic systems because it is about 2.5 miles off the coast at a depth of 43 meters.

We encountered a large pile in an area outside of geography that can be found with standard dives.

The characteristic of this pile is that it consists of intertwined dishes, each in clusters of about 15-20, not the amphorae we usually detect in our studies. To date, we have found the largest shipwreck of dishes known in the Aegean and Mediterranean. Based on the first determinations, we think that the ship came from North Africa or Cyprus. It probably sank off the coast of Ayvalık after a storm.’

The wreck is estimated to be about 15 meters (49.21 feet) long and 9 meters wide, with only a small number of amphorae found alongside the dishes.

The team believes the ship may have originated from either North Africa or the island of Cyprus, with the wreck possibly resulting from a storm.

Additionally, Özdaş pointed out that ceramics made in places like Syria, Egypt, North Africa, and Cyprus were frequently traded and shipped to Anatolia, Greece, or Italy. But as of yet, there hasn’t been any convincing underwater proof of these kinds of trade activities. With almost 10,000 plates in its cargo, the discovery of this shipwreck is unprecedented in both scope and importance.

“There are at least 5-6 different types of plates among the cargo,” said Özdaş. “In our 30 years of underwater research in Turkish waters, finding such wealth is a source of great happiness for us. The ship’s main cargo was ceramic plates and photogrammetric studies show that there are 10,000 plates on the site.

This wreck is of great importance, especially because it has remained untouched and preserved in its original state. The variety and quantity of artifacts here represent a significant collection.”

According to Özdaş, the discovery is substantial enough to warrant the creation of a museum based on the artifacts uncovered. “We have found enough artifacts to open a museum,” he said.

Oldest known alphabet unearthed in ancient Syrian city -500 years older than thought

Oldest known alphabet unearthed in ancient Syrian city -500 years older than thought

Oldest known alphabet unearthed in ancient Syrian city -500 years older than thought

Johns Hopkins University researchers uncovered evidence of the oldest alphabetic writing in human history. The writing was etched onto finger-length clay cylinders discovered during a dig at an ancient Syrian city.

The discovery was announced at the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR) annual meeting.

During an excavation at an ancient tomb in Tell Umm-el Marra, the team, under the direction of Professor Glenn Schwartz, discovered small clay cylinders marked with what may have been alphabetic symbols.

Once a major city in western Syria, Tell Umm-el Marra is renowned for being one of the first urban centers in the area. Along with researchers from the University of Amsterdam, Professor Schwartz, an authority on ancient cities, co-led a 16-year excavation at the site. Early Bronze Age tombs were found during the excavation.

One of the best-preserved tombs contained six skeletons, gold and silver jewelry, cookware, a spearhead, and intact pottery vessels.

Four small clay cylinders that looked to have early alphabetic writing were discovered by researchers close to the pottery vessels. Each cylinder had a hole in it, and the clay was only lightly baked. According to Professor Glenn Schwartz, the items may have served as labels.

Oldest known alphabet unearthed in ancient Syrian city -500 years older than thought

The writing, which is dated to around 2400 BCE, precedes other known alphabetic scripts by roughly 500 years, upending what archaeologists know about where alphabets came from, how they are shared across societies, and what that could mean for early urban civilizations, according to the researchers.

“The cylinders were perforated, so I’m imagining a string tethering them to another object to act as a label. Maybe they detail the contents of a vessel, or maybe where the vessel came from, or who it belonged to,” Schwartz said. “Without a means to translate the writing, we can only speculate.”

Using carbon-14 dating techniques, researchers confirmed the ages of the tombs, the artifacts, and the writing.

“Previously, scholars thought the alphabet was invented in or around Egypt sometime after 1900 BCE,” Schwartz said. “But our artifacts are older and from a different area on the map, suggesting the alphabet may have an entirely different origin story than we thought.”

Professor Schwartz presented the findings at the 2024 American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR 2024) annual meeting.

Cover Image Credit: The 4,400-year-old clay object discovered at the ancient city of Umm el-Marra, Syria. Glenn Schwartz, Johns Hopkins University.

1500-year-old Stunning Pendant Amulet Depicting the Prophet Solomon Spearing the Devil on Horseback Found in Türkiye

1500-year-old Stunning Pendant Amulet Depicting the Prophet Solomon Spearing the Devil on Horseback Found in Türkiye

1500-year-old Stunning Pendant Amulet Depicting the Prophet Solomon Spearing the Devil on Horseback Found in Türkiye

During the excavations in the ancient city of Hadrianopolis in Eskipazar district of Karabük, Türkiye, an amulet from the 5th century A.D. depicting the Prophet Solomon spearing the devil on horseback was unearthed.

The ancient city, which served as a settlement in the late Chalcolithic, Roman, and early Byzantine eras, is still undergoing excavation and restoration work under the direction of associate professor Ersin Çelikbaş from the Department of Archaeology at Karabük University’s Faculty of Literature.

During excavations at the ancient city, known as the “Zeugma of the Black Sea,” an amulet pendant depicting the Prophet Solomon from the fifth century A.D. was discovered.

Çelikbaş explained that work on the project continues in the ancient city. Noting that significant finds were found, saying, “One of them was uncovered this week during the excavation of the structure we named ‘SDJ-3.’ We believe it is a significant artifact for Anatolian archaeology since no similar examples have been found in this region before. It is actually an amulet pendant.”

Karabuk University Faculty of Letters, Department of Archaeology Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ersin Çelikbaş stated that this artifact is a very important discovery for Anatolian archaeology,

“The depiction shows the Prophet Solomon on horseback, spearing a demon. Why this depiction? Because the Prophet Solomon is important in all three major religions. He is noted as a ruler in Judaism and the Bible and in Islam, he is recognized not only as a ruler but also as a prophet.

Therefore, the depiction of the Prophet Solomon, important in monotheistic religions, on this pendant both surprised us and showed us its importance for Anatolian archaeology.”

Çelikbaş noted that the inscription on the pendant reads “Our Lord has overcome evil” and said: “Why was this pendant, this amulet, found here? In fact, it has to do with the military character of Hadrianopolis. We have previously identified evidence of a cavalry unit here through archaeological finds.”

Çelikbaş noted that the inscription on the pendant reads “Our Lord has overcome evil” and said: “Why was this pendant, this amulet, found here? In fact, it has to do with the military character of Hadrianopolis. We have previously identified evidence of a cavalry unit here through archaeological finds.

Solomon is also known as the commander of armies. We understand that he was also considered as a protective figure for the Roman and Byzantine cavalry at Hadrianopolis.”

Çelikbaş said: “The front depicts the Prophet Solomon and mentions God’s triumph over evil, while the back bears the names of our four holy angels: Azrael, Gabriel, Michael, and Israfil.

This is also very significant. No similar artifact has been found in Anatolian archaeology to date. Only one comparable example in terms of depiction has been found in Jerusalem.

The appearance of two similar artifacts over such great distances indicates that this area was an important religious center in antiquity. Based on the fonts of the inscriptions and stratigraphic data from our studies, we date the artifact to the fifth century A.D.”

According to the static graphic analyses, the amulet was dated to the 5th century AD. It was stated that this discovery once again reveals the historical and religious importance of Anatolia.