11,000-year-old ‘abandoned’ site found with ‘erected penis’ pillars and head carvings
Archaeologists in Turkey have found evidence that an 11,000-year-old prehistoric site was used for a ceremonial parade through a building containing phallus-shaped pillars and a carving of a human head.
Scientists have been left to speculate how the penis pillars were erected
Called Karahantepe, the site is located in southern Turkey, east of Şanlıurfa, and has a series of buildings that date back to long before writing was invented.
Within the remains of the buildings, archaeologists found carvings of human heads, snakes and a fox, as well as several interestingly shaped pillars.
For instance, the archaeologists discovered 11 pillars near a carving of a human head. “All pillars are erected and shaped like a phallus,” Necmi Karul, a professor of prehistoric archaeology at Istanbul University, wrote in a paper recently published in the journal Türk Arkeoloji ve Etnografya Dergisi.
Researchers excavate at the site of Karahantepe in Turkey on Sept. 30, 2021.
In the journal article, Karul did not speculate as to why the heads and phallus-shaped pillars were built or what meaning they may have had.
This building is connected to three others to form a complex of sorts.
Ancient people may have held a ceremonial parade through this complex, Karul said. Current evidence suggests that people used the complex for “a ceremonial process, entering the building from one end and exiting at the other end, having to parade in [the] presence of the human head” and the phallus-shaped pillars, Karul wrote in the journal article.
More excavation and analysis will need to be done before archaeologists can say for certain that this parade took place, Karul wrote.
Rather than being abandoned, the buildings were filled in with dirt, possibly during a decommissioning ceremony of sorts.
The site dates to a similar time as Gobekli Tepe, another archaeological site that has large buildings and carvings of animals and human heads.
Gobekli Tepe is also located near Şanlıurfa, and archaeologists are trying to determine the relationship between the two sites.
Although Karahantepe was discovered in 1997, excavations didn’t start until 2019. Between those years, researchers completed several archaeological surveys of the site. Karul did not reply to requests for comment.
1,800-Year-Old Rock-Cut Tombs Discovered in Turkey
Archaeologists in Turkey have discovered 400 rock-cut chamber tombs that date to 1,800 years ago and makeup part of one of the largest rock-cut chamber tomb necropolises in the world.
The team found the tombs in the ancient city of Blaundos (also spelled Blaundus), located about 110 miles (180 kilometres) east of the Aegean Sea in what is now Turkey. The city was founded during the time of Alexander the Great and existed through the Roman and Byzantine periods.
The tombs are filled with sarcophagi, many of which contain multiple deceased individuals — a clue that families used these tombs for burials over many generations, said Birol Can, an archaeologist at Uşak University in Turkey and head of the Blaundos Excavation Project.
“We think that the Blaundos rock-cut tomb chambers, in which there are many sarcophagi, were used as family tombs, and that the tombs were reopened for each deceased family member, and a burial ceremony was held and closed again,” Can told Live Science in an email.
The city of Blaundos sits on a hill surrounded by a valley, which is actually a branch of the vast Uşak canyons, one of the longest canyon systems in the world, Can said. The people of Blaundos built the necropolis into the slopes of the canyon. “Due to the rocky nature of the slopes surrounding the city, the most preferred burial technique was the chamber-shaped tombs carved into the solid rocks,” he said.
Though archaeologists knew about the necropolis for more than 150 years, they have never done a systematic excavation of Blaundos, which is why Can’s team began their excavation project in 2018, with the goal of documenting the ruins and preparing conservation projects. So far, they’ve identified two temples, a theater, a public bath, a gymnasium, a basilica, city walls and a gate, aqueducts, a shrine dedicated to an ancient Greek or Roman hero known as a heroon, and the rock-cut chamber tombs.
“Apart from these, we know that there are many religious, public and civil structures still under the ground,” Can said.
The restored paintings decorate the tombs’ ceilings.
Tombs of the valley
In 2018, when excavating one of the rock-cut chamber tombs, the archaeologists found human bones dating to the second to third centuries A.D. So, in 2021, the team focused on the necropolis. “As a result of this work, which has been dangerous at times, the documentation of approximately 400 rock-cut chamber tombs that can be noticed on the surface has been completed,” Can said.
However, the necropolis was a hotspot for grave robbers, who destroyed burials as they stole precious jewelry and other artifacts from the tombs over the centuries. The archaeologists still found plenty of clues that the deceased individuals date to Roman times. For instance, pottery fragments and coins discovered in the excavated tombs indicate that they date from the second to fourth centuries A.D., during the Roman period. “In addition, the technique of the wall paintings covering the walls, vaults and ceilings of the tombs and the style of the vegetal and figurative scenes depicted on them show Roman characteristics,” Can said.
The team found different types of rock-cut chamber tombs, including single-roomed chambers, as well as “complex structures formed by arranging rooms one after the other,” Can said. “These rooms were not created in one go. It is understood from the traces on the walls that these tombs were originally designed as a single room. However, in time, when there was no place for burial in this single room, the room was expanded inwards and the second, third and then the fourth rooms were added.”
Some tombs still had artifacts that were likely meant to help the deceased in the afterlife, Can said. These grave goods included mirrors, diadems, rings, bracelets, hairpins, medical instruments, belts, drinking cups and oil lamps, all of which shed light on the people buried in the tombs, such as their sex, occupation, habits and burial date.
An aerial view of the stone-cut chamber tombs at the necropolis.
A view of the northeastern necropolis in the canyon wall.
A bird’s-eye view of the archaeological site at Blaundos.
Two researchers carry out restorative work at one of the tombs in Blaundos.
Beautiful paintings
The walls and ceilings of these burial chambers were decorated with colorful, intricate paintings, although many have deteriorated over the millennia, Can said. The murals in 24 of these chambers are still visible, but they’re in bad shape.
“Some of these tombs were used as animal shelters by shepherds a long time ago,” Can said. “The frescoes were covered with a dense and black soot layer due to the fires that were set in those times.” But the restoration conservation team was able to clean some of the paintings, revealing the vibrant floral, geometric and figurative scenes painted on the walls.
“Vines, flowers of various colors, wreaths, garlands, geometric panels are the most frequently used motifs,” Can said. “In addition to these, mythological figures — such as Hermes (Mercury), Eros (Cupid) [and] Medusa — and animals such as birds and dogs are included in the wide panels.”
There are hundreds more graves to be excavated, and “all wall paintings will be revealed with the excavations to be made in the necropolis in the coming years,” he noted.
The team also plans to do DNA and chemical studies that will reveal the deceased individuals’ ancestries, as well as their sex, age and nutritional habits, Can said.
Blaundos is open to tourists. As the excavations reveal more of the city, Can hopes to protect the new findings and share them with the world.
Ancient mass grave, WWII bunker among new finds in Istanbul’s Haydarpaşa dig
The ongoing archaeological excavation on the premises of Istanbul’s iconic Haydarpaşa Train Station entered a new phase with the recent removal of concrete platforms, with ancient mass graves, a mausoleum and a bunker used during World War II joining a long list of artefacts retrieved from the area.
Archaeologists and staff work at the Haydarpaşa excavation area in Kadıköy, Istanbul, on Oct. 12, 2021.
Precious historical artefacts dating back to the fifth century B.C. have been uncovered in the excavations that have been ongoing for the past three years in the 30-hectare (74-acre) facility housing platforms, maintenance wards, depots, parking lines and manoeuvre areas.
These artefacts shed light on the history of the 15-million megapolis and the Asian district of Kadıköy, where the ancient city of Chalcedon once stood.
Istanbul Archaeology Museum Director Rahmi Asal told reporters Sunday that the backyard of the station has indeed turned into an archaeological site. “The current area where we are working is inside the western harbour of Chalcedon. Indeed, very important ruins and artefacts were recovered. One of them is a private residence with opus sectile flooring dating back to the A.D. fifth century, along with a bathhouse,” Asal was quoted as saying by Anadolu Agency (AA).
“We also came across a section of Sainte Bassa Church, an important ruin from the Byzantine era that is narrated both in antique sources as well as modern publications. Inside the church’s apse, a mass grave was found containing approximately 28 bodies,” Asal said. Other findings include a platform dating back to the Hellenistic period, a pedestal probably belonging to a mausoleum and an adjacent sarcophagus, ruins from a holy spring (hagiasma in Greek, ayazma in Turkish) inside a palace ruin, and stone brick building dating back to the A.D. fifth to sixth centuries believed to be used as a melting workshop due to the furnaces and pots found there.
Expert work on human remains and skeletons at the Haydarpaşa excavation area in Kadıköy, Istanbul, on Oct. 12, 2021.
An Ottoman-era water fountain, erected in 1790 in connection with other fountains in nearby Halitağa Street and underwent repairs in 1836, was also uncovered at the site.
A bunker is seen at the Haydarpaşa excavation area in Kadıköy, Istanbul, on Oct. 12, 2021.
Another interesting finding covered by platforms was a 400-meter (1,312-foot) long bunker, which is 2 meters in width and 2.40 meters in height. Built-in 1942, the bunker also contains electrical panels and toilets.
Asal stated that nearly 12,000 gold, silver and bronze coins in good condition were retrieved from the excavation site, with the most important being a coin dating back to the fifth century B.C.
Explaining that the excavation went down some 2 meters in parts, Asal said that an interrupted chronological settlement from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods can be traced on all layers of the earth. “If we were to talk about the history of Kadıköy in particular, our information on its archaeology and art history was unfortunately scarce apart from information in antique sources. We can say that these excavations are rewriting, reshaping the history of Kadıköy with concrete archaeological documents.”
Asal explained that the excavation is ongoing as part of the Haydarpaşa restoration project of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, and it is not possible to give an exact time frame on when the excavation will end since it depends on both the project requirements and new archaeological findings shaping it.
An artefact bearing inscriptions in ancient Greek letters is seen at the Haydarpaşa excavation area in Kadıköy, Istanbul, on Oct. 12, 2021.
Pottery and other earth cases are seen among ancient artefacts at the Haydarpaşa excavation area in Kadıköy, Istanbul, on Oct. 12, 2021
“We know that currently, a new project is in the making that also utilizes recovered artefacts and adds them into the station project. Once we see that project, like the museum, we will convey our excavation results and assessment report to the local conservation board, which will shape the remaining process accordingly.”
The priority of archaeologists, art historians and citizens should be the Haydarpaşa Station itself, Asal said, underlining that the symbolic landmark should preserve its primary function as a terminus station and archaeological findings should be integrated into that function.
Yalçın Eyigün, head of the General Directorate of Infrastructure of the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry, told Demirören News Agency (DHA) that the designing process for closed areas and an open-air museum is ongoing, which the ministry seeks to complete in the next two years.
Currently, work has been completed on 49% of the 140,000 square meters area slated for excavations, Eyigün said, adding that 250 staff are working under the supervision of 15 archaeologists and the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.
Explaining that the total area of the Haydarpaşa compound is 4.75 hectares, Eyigün said the ministry aims to use only 75,000 square meters for railroad-related activities, with the rest allocated for an archaeological site, archaeological park and an industrial heritage museum.
The area, formerly known as Haydarpaşa Meadows before railway construction began in 1872, has many well-preserved or intact artefacts, due to the fact that construction began later than in the rest of Istanbul’s central neighbourhoods. The station building itself, which was constructed between 1906 and 1909, sits atop 1,100 wooden piles on reclaimed land.
Once serving as the western terminus of the Ottoman Empire’s ambitious Hejaz and Baghdad railways, the station has been closed to passengers since June 2013 when suburban rail services stretching to the Gebze district of Kocaeli province were halted for the Marmaray project. Featuring a submerged train tunnel crossing the Bosporus and revamping the old suburban rail lines to increase train and passenger capacity, the Marmaray bypasses Haydarpaşa and its European counterpart, the Sirkeci Station. Intercity trains to Anatolia were also scrapped a year earlier over the ongoing construction for a high-speed train.
The station experienced several setbacks throughout its history. On the first day of its opening in 1908, a fire broke out and it was reopened on Nov. 4, 1909, after a restoration process. The station housed an armoury and ammunition depot during World War I but was damaged on Sept. 6, 1917, when the armoury exploded. The station completely collapsed after that. On the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish republic, the station was rebuilt to its original state and a comprehensive restoration was also carried out in 1976.
In 1979, certain sections of the station were damaged during the Independent tanker accident, in which a Romanian crude oil carrier exploded after colliding with a Greek freighter on the Bosporus off Haydarpaşa Port.
Following a 2010 fire that broke out during repairs, a temporary protective roof was placed to protect the building from rainfall and snow. Several projects were made public over the years to reassess the building’s use as a hotel with a larger convention centre project in the surrounding rail facilities. Following calls from the public, the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) prepared a thorough restoration project for the building so it can serve its original function in 2016, which was approved by relevant authorities. The recent archaeological excavation began during repairs to tracks and platforms leading to the main station building.
Treasure hunters explode 2500-year-old Lycian Rock-cut Tombs in Turkey
Treasure hunters have exploded the entrance of a 2,500-year-old rock-cut tomb, one of the six ancient sepulchres in the Elmalı district of the southern province of Antalya.
“These are cultural heritages, we must protect them to leave to the next generations,” Durmuş Altan, an archaeologist, told Demirören News Agency on Oct. 6.
According to Altan, who is also the head of the provincial directorate of cultural and social affairs, there are six rock tombs in the neighbourhood.
“Four of them are from the Lycian period,” he said and added: “Today’s Armutlu was in the territory of the then Lycia Kingdom.”
“The meticulous cut of the rock tombs shows that there was once a genuine settlement in the area,” he added.
But the latest state of the rock tombs is not pleasant. Doomed to their destiny, the rock tombs were damaged with writings on them.
Treasure hunters recently flattened the entrance of a rock tomb with explosives, the archaeologist noted.
The entrance to this ancient Lycian rock-cut tomb in Turkey was recently blasted open with dynamite.
“They think they can find sculptures or gold here in the region. These people, unfortunately, damage the cultural assets,” he added.
Few written records remain from the distinctive Lycian culture.
Lycia was located in the region that is now the Antalya and Muğla provinces, on Turkey’s southern coast, and also in Burdur province, which lies further inland. Given that there are few written records left by the ancient Lycians, not much is known about the civilization. What we do know is that they had a distinct culture that had unique aspects not found elsewhere in the ancient world.
One of the most extraordinary aspects of Lycian culture was the striking tombs they built and Ancient Origins wrote a great article about these remarkable tombs a few years ago.
The Lycians made rock-cut, sarcophagus, and pillar tombs. Of these three known types, rock-cut tombs are the most common. The earliest Lycian rock-cut tombs dating to the 5th century BC.
The Lycians believed that a mythical winged creature would carry them into the afterlife, and this is perhaps one of the reasons their tombs were carved directly into rock faces, often a cliff.
Fascinatingly, the Lycian tombs were usually carved to resemble the façade of their houses. They often had one or two stories and sometimes even three. The tombs sometimes held more than one body, most probably of people related to each other, thus extending family ties into the afterlife.
The mythological reliefs sometimes carved on the rock-cut tombs also tell us something about their religious beliefs. The Lycian tombs, rock-cut or otherwise, are thus a precious relic of an ancient culture that has not left behind many written records to help us understand them better. Archaeologist Durmuş Altan’s distress at the callous damage done to one of them by treasure seekers is, therefore, most understandable.
Of course, this is not the first time that ancient tombs and monuments have been broken open by treasure hunters. Tomb robbery goes all the way back to antiquity and has occurred all over the world.
One of the most well-known examples is from Egypt where most of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings were looted within a hundred years of their being sealed. In modern times, robbing ancient tombs is sometimes the work of organized gangs.
It is hoped that episodes like the latest tomb raid in Elmali will be prevented in future by greater cooperation between governments, UNESCO, and other world heritage bodies. As Altan stated, these are sacred heirlooms, and we owe it to future generations to leave them in even better shape than we found them ourselves.
12,000-year-old massive underground tunnels are real and stretch from Scotland to Turkey
Is it possible that ancient cultures were interconnected thousands of years ago? According to thousands of underground tunnels that stretch from North Scotland towards the Mediterranean the answer is a big yes.
While the reason behind these sophisticated tunnels remains a mystery, many experts believe that this huge 12,000-year-old network was built as a protection against predators and other dangers 12,000 years ago.
Some experts believe that these mysterious tunnels were used as modern-day highways, allowing the transition of people and connecting them to distant places across Europe.
In the book Secrets Of The Underground Door To An Ancient World (German title: Tore zur Unterwelt) German archaeologist Dr Heinrich Kush states that evidence of huge underground tunnels has been found under dozens of Neolithic settlements all over the European continent. These tremendous tunnels are often referred to as ancient highways.
According to Dr Kusch, the fact that many of these tunnels still exist today, after 12,000 years indicates that the tunnels must have been both complex and huge in size.
“Across Europe, there were thousands of them says Dr Kusch,” in Germany, we have discovered hundreds of meters of underground tunnels. In Austria, we have found hundreds more. These underground tunnels can be found everywhere across Europe and there are thousands of them.” Said the German archaeologist.
While some of the tunnels are relatively small- some of them measure over a meter in width, there are other tunnels that have been found with underground chambers and storage areas.
The fact that these tunnels have been found points towards incredible ancient ingenuity which is anything but what history books tells us today. Ancient mankind had the knowledge and tools to build complex structures over ten thousand years ago.
Evidence of that is the Pyramids of Bosnia in Europe and their incredible underground tunnels that go on for kilometres.
Dr Kusch states that ‘Across Europe, there were thousands of these tunnels – from the north in Scotland down to the Mediterranean.
They are interspersed with nooks, at some places it’s larger and there is seating, or storage chambers and rooms. They do not all link up but taken together it is a massive underground network.’
Cappadocia in Turkey is another incredible example. The underground city of Derinkuyu is another piece of evidence that points towards the perfection and long-lost construction methods of our ancestors.
The underground city of Derinkuyu is perhaps one of the greatest achievements in underground construction together with the huge network of tunnels.
The geological features of the stone from Derinkuyu is something that is very important; it is very soft. Thus, the ancient builders of Derinkuyu had to be very careful when building these underground chambers providing enough pillar strength to support the floors above; if this was not achieved, the city would have collapsed, but so far, archaeologists have not found evidence of any “cave-ins” at Derinkuyu.
Other ancient monuments such as Gobekli Tepe are more pieces of crucial evidence that point towards incredible skills and knowledge by people who inhabited our planet over ten thousand years ago.
According to Dr Kusch, chapels were often built at the entrances to the underground tunnels because the Church were afraid of the heathen legacy the tunnels might have represented, and like many other things, the church wanted to make sure word about the tunnels was kept as a secret.
In some of the tunnels, writings have been discovered which refer to these underground tunnels as gateways to the underworld.
Gate to Temple of Zeus Unearthed in Magnesia, Turkey
Archaeologists have been excavating Magnesia for decades. The ancient Greek city in Turkey’s Aydin province is home to two temples: one dedicated to Artemis, and the other, to Zeus.
Archaeologists found the entrance gate for the Zeus Temple in the ancient city Magnesia, located in Aydin’s Germencik district in western Turkey. The excavations that continue in the Ortaklar neighbourhood are being led by Associate Professor Gorkem Kokdemir of Ankara University Archaeology Department.
“I have been working on the Magnesia excavations for 23 years, since 1998,” Kokdemir tells TRT World. The excavations were being led by Professor Orhan Bingol, and when he retired, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism saw me fit for the job.”
According to Kokdemir, Magnesia was first dug up during the erstwhile Ottoman Empire’s reign. A German archaeologist, Carl Humann, in the 1890s, around 1891-1892, on behalf of the German government – who also dug in Bergama, and many other cities in western Anatolia – excavated Magnesia.
“He spends two years in Magnesia and digs up the Zeus Temple, the one we rediscovered and is now in the news, in the agora,” Kokdemir says on the phone. “It is significant because of architectural history. It is dated back to the 3rd century BC, one of the earliest temples of the Hellenistic period.”
Magnesia in Turkey’s Aydin province was first dug up before the establishment of the Republic of Turkey by a German archaeologist.
Kokdemir adds that Humann “reveals the architectural elements of this temple and he takes about ten per cent of the temple to Berlin. He takes many goods to Berlin such as sculptures and inscriptions, along with parts of the Zeus Temple. Today in Berlin’s Pergamon Museum there is on display the Zeus temple’s parts 5.5-6 metres tall, they have been completed with 90 per cent imitation parts. You can see this temple when you go to the museum today.”
Kokdemir tells TRT World that the Zeus Temple is one of the most important sacred areas of Magnesia, one of the most important temples.
“There is the Artemis sacred space there, there is also a sacred agora, the Zeus Temple is in the sacred agora. It is very significant, it is the second important cult [of Magnesia].”
“In ancient cities, people worship not just one deity, they worship multiple gods or goddesses. In Magnesia the first deity is Artemis, and the second deity is Zeus,” he clarifies.
Kokdemir says the archaeological team is once more excavating the Zeus Temple to access the architectural information, to complete the missing information and to reintroduce the temple to archaeological literature: “It has been underground for a hundred years. It was only seen during Humann’s time and shortly after was buried under four metres of soil.”
The Magnesia excavation team expects to find 60 to 70 per cent of the original materials of the Zeus Temple, planning to carry out a good restoration project and to revive it with five metres pillar height and seven-seven and a half metres including the roof and will make it a proper sight to visit.
Parts of the Zeus Temple in Magnesia are in Berlin, while most of it is being dug up in Turkey’s Aydin province.
Asked about the significance of Magnesia as a city, Kokdemir says it was set up about 2,400 years ago, in the 4th century BC. “Its most striking aspect is the temples built for gods and goddesses and the festivals and games organised for these deities.”
Of the structures in Magnesia, the Artemis temple is the biggest temple, which is open to visitors. Kokdemir says it is the fourth largest temple in Anatolia, following Ephesus’ Artemis Temple – one of the seven wonders of the world–, the Apollo Temple in Didyma, and the Artemis Temple in Manisa, in Sardes.
“The Artemis Temple in Magnesia was built by a prominent architect of its time, think of him like Sinan the Architect was to the Ottoman legacy, an architect of antiquity called Hermogenes. His masterpiece is the Artemis Temple,” Kokdemir enthuses.
Kokdemir notes another detail about the Artemis Temple. “In the 3rd century BC, 2300 years ago, there were games organised that were the equivalent of the most important games in the Mediterranean region, Delphi Apollo Games. A grand organisation. Participants from Italy, from Greece, from many points in Anatolia, from the islands, joined in these games that last five days. The games spoke of the significance of Magnesia and also helped the city grow and thrive.”
Kokdemir points out that there are still many places in Magnesia to be excavated. While they expect the Zeus Temple to be restored to its full glory in a couple of years contingent on funding, there is also the hippodrome with 50,000 capacity, he says. “We may have to wait for 15-20 years to completely experience the amazing city that is Magnesia, but it will be worth it.”
1,800-year-old rock tombs found in Turkey’s ancient city Blaundus
In the ancient city of Blaundus, located in the Ulubey neighbourhood of the western Anatolian city of Uşak, a total of 400 rock-cut graves dating from around 1,800 years ago and adorned with various motifs were discovered.
Excavations continue in the ancient city of Blaundus, situated on a peninsula surrounded by deep valleys, under the presidency of professor Birol Can of Uşak University’s Archaeology Department. While archaeological digs have revealed many Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine artefacts in the ancient city to date, this year’s work was focused on the areas of the necropolis.
These excavations unveiled 400 rock tombs featuring multiple rooms, the walls of which were decorated with special motifs of vine branches, bunches of grapes and flowers.
An outside view from the rock tombs in the ancient city of Blaundus, Uşak, western Turkey, Sept. 29, 2021.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), the excavation head Can said that Blaundos was established on a safeguarded hill. “There is only one entrance to the city from the north, and the city is surrounded by a valley reaching a depth of 70 meters (300 feet) in some points. We determined rock-cut tombs in our recent works conducted in the steep sides of the valley.
From the analysis of materials and bones, we found in this area, we understand that these rock tombs were intensely used after the A.D. second century. We can say that they were used as family graves.”
Can’s team believes that there are also a large number of graves underground in the ancient city. Noting that there are different types of rooms inside the rock tombs, Can be continued: “There are arched sarcophagi carved into the bedrock in front of the walls of each room.
Apart from these, places that are thought to be used for funeral ceremonies were also found inside the rock tombs. The main door of the tombs was closed with a marble door and reopened during burial or ceremony times in the past.”
An aerial view from the rock tombs in the ancient city of Blaundus, Uşak, western Turkey, Sept. 29, 2021.
Emphasizing that their priority is the preservation of the tombs, Can said that they also prepare projects for the promotion and opening of these structures.
Stating that there will be a walking path starting from the city entrance and going around these tombs, Can said: “Within this project, plans have been made to illuminate the area of the tombs. We are planning to make the entire necropolis visitable in the future.”
The ancient city of Blaundus was established by Roman Commander Blaundus as Alexander the Great was off to a campaign in Anatolia.
Following Alexander the Great, the city was ruled by Romans and Byzantines. It was the seat of the bishopric in these periods.
Blaundus was built on the top of a hill overlooking Grand Ulubey Canyon, which has strategic importance for the Lydia-Phrygia border.
Although the city was founded in the Hellenistic era, due to earthquakes that caused widespread damage, the city was rebuilt and fashioned into one of the more significant Roman-era urban centres in the region.
There are many public and religious buildings, such as temples, a theatre, a stadium, a gymnasium and a basilica.
The structure of an 8-kilometer (5-mile) aqueduct also remains that served to bring fresh water to the city.
‘Ancestor’ of Mediterranean mosaics discovered in Turkey
The discovery of a 3,500-year-old paving stone, described as the “ancestor” of Mediterranean mosaics, offers illuminating details into the daily lives of the mysterious Bronze Age Hittites.
Archaeologists work at the site where a 3,500-year-old paving stone was discovered in Buyuk Taslik village, Turkey
The assembly of over 3,000 stones — in natural shades of beige, red and black, and arranged in triangles and curves — was unearthed in the remains of a 15th century BC Hittite temple.
“It is the ancestor of the classical period of mosaics that are obviously more sophisticated. This is a sort of the first attempt to do it,” says Anacleto D’Agostino, excavation director of Usakli Hoyuk, near Yozgat, in central Turkey.
ARCHAEOLOGISTS working on the 3,500-year-old paving stones discovered in Turkey’s Yozgat province.
At the site, three hours from Turkey’s capital Ankara, first located in 2018, Turkish and Italian archaeologists painstakingly use shovels and brushes to learn more about the towns of the Hittites, one of the most powerful kingdoms in ancient Anatolia.
“For the first time, people felt the necessity to produce some geometric patterns and to do something different from a simple pavement,” D’Agostino says.
“Maybe we are dealing with a genius. Maybe not. It was maybe a man who said ‘build me a floor’ and he decided to do something weird.”
The discovery was made opposite Kerkenes mountain and the temple where the mosaic is located was dedicated to Teshub, the storm god worshipped by the Hittites, equivalent to Zeus for the ancient Greeks.
“Probably here the priests were looking at the picture of Kerkenes mountain for some rituals and so on,” D’Agostino adds.
The archaeologists this week also discovered ceramics and the remains of a palace, supporting the theory that Usakli Hoyuk could indeed be the lost city of Zippalanda.
A significant place of worship of the storm god and frequently mentioned in Hittite tablets, Zippalanda’s exact location has remained a mystery.
“Researchers agree that Usakli Hoyuk is one of two most likely sites. With the discovery of the palace remains alongside the luxurious ceramics and glassware, the likelihood has increased,” D’Agostino says.
“We only need the ultimate proof: a tablet carrying the name of the city.”
The treasures of Usakli Hoyuk, for which cedar trees were brought from Lebanon to build temples and palaces, were swallowed up like the rest of the Hittite world towards the end of the Bronze Age. The reason is still not known. But some believe a change in climate accompanied by social unrest is the cause. Nearly 3,000 years after their disappearance, the Hittites continued to inhabit Turkish imagination.
A Hittite figure representing the sun is Ankara’s symbol. And in the 1930s, the founder of the modern Turkish republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, presented Turks as the direct descendants of the Hittites.
“I don’t know if we can find a connection between ancient Hittites and people living here now. Centuries and millennia have passed, and people moved from one place to another,” D’Agostino says.
“But I would like to imagine that some sort of spiritual connection exists.” In an attempt to honour this connection, the excavation team recreated Hittite culinary traditions, trying ancient recipes on ceramics produced as they would have been at the time using the same technique and clay.
“We reproduced the Hittite ceramics with the clay found in the village where the site is located: we baked dates and bread with them as the Hittites used to eat,” says Valentina Orsi, co-director of the excavation.
