Turkish Archaeological News collects the most important, interesting and inspiring news from Turkish excavation sites. Here's the review for February 2017. Have we missed anything? Let us know by using Contact tab!
February 2, 2017
Home of Santa Claus to be renovated
The Mediterranean province of Antalya’s Demre district will undergo a series of renovation projects that will renovate many of its historic relics and venues, including the house of Santa Claus and a district square headed by the province’s metropolitan municipality. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
February 6, 2017
Excavations in Turkey's southwest reveal Anatolian food culture
Roman-era cooks used double baskets and pressure steam cookers to prepare their food, according to findings from the ancient city of Tlos in southwestern Turkey, an academic leading the excavations has said. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Archaeologists, engineers race to save ancient tomb from being submerged
The ancient tomb of Zeynel Bey, a 650-year-old piece of history lying near the Ilısu Lake in the Hasankeyf district of Batman province in southeastern Turkey, is being relocated due to the threat that the Ilısu Dam poses to its viability. Source: Daily Sabah
February 9, 2017
Hellenistic jewelry found in illegal dig
Hellenistic-era jewelry has been seized following an operation on the house of a person who was allegedly conducting illegal excavations in the western province of Muğla’s Yatağan district. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
February 11, 2017
Latest Archaeology Digs In Turkey Finds 12,000 Years Of Anatolian Food Culture
Archaeological missions in the old city of Tlos in Turkey have led scientists and historians to the information they needed regarding the food culture of Anatolians dating 12,000 years ago. The excavations found jars and cookers with animal meat like deer, rabbit and wild boar, but the ancient people favored agricultural products only years later on. Source: Travelers Today
February 13, 2017
Three more tombs have been unearthed in an olive grove in the northwestern province of Bursa’s İznik district. One tomb was previously found last November in the same field, which is believed to be a necropolis from the late Roman era. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Marble table at hospital turns out to be piece of historical column
A piece of marble used as a table in a hospital in Turgutlu, a small town in Turkey's western province of Manisa, has turned out to be part of a historical column from the Roman era. Source: Daily Sabah
February 14, 2017
Stolen artifacts from Turkey found in Germany
One of the artifacts stolen from the Kocaeli Archaeology Museum in 2009 has been found at an auction in Germany. The Culture and Tourism Ministry reported theft of the Roman-era color marble relief, which is valued at around 32,000 euros in the auction, to Interpol. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Smuggled historical prayer book saved from illegal sale
A historical book dating back 400 years, which was smuggled into Turkey, was saved from being sold illegally for $4 million by Istanbul police. Source: Daily Sabah
February 15, 2017
Unique Tatar tomb room to be exhibited in Turkey’s Afyonkarahisar
It has been 48 years since the "Tatar Tümülüsü" was illegally excavated and pieces of the Tatar tomb were smuggled abroad. Today the 2,500 year-old wooden tomb has been returned to Turkey and portions of it are now slated to be exhibited in Afyonkarahisar. Source: Daily Sabah
Anatolia’s biggest caravanserai to be restored
Restoration work for Anatolia's biggest caravanserai, called "Sultan Han," will start in March in the town of Sultanhanı in Turkey's central Aksaray province. The caravanserai was built eight centuries ago by the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Kayqubad to provide shelter and protection to travelers on the Silk Road. Source: Daily Sabah
February 16, 2017
New museum to offer visual reality of Sarıkamış Battle
The new Sarıkamış Panorama Museum built in a National Park in northeastern Turkey's Allahuekber Mountains will take visitors on a journey through time and enable them to experience the World War I battle of Sarıkamış with virtual reality. Source: Daily Sabah
February 18, 2017
Illustrated novel of a family on Mount Latmos
Heraclia Latmos was one of the beautiful coastal cities of Karia, resting against the Latmos (Beşparmak) mountains and facing the Aegean. While the alluvial silt carried by the Greater Menderes River resulted in coastal towns like Miletus and Pyrenees being left 30 kilometers from the sea, they turned Latmos into a lake city called Bafa. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
February 19, 2017
Temple of Artemis turns into swamp due to neglect
The Temple of Artemis in the Selçuk district of İzmir has turned into a swamp because of neglect and a lack of interest by authorities. The temple, which was visited by tourists who come to the district to see the famous site of Ephesus, welcomes tourists with a rusted introduction panel. The temple resembles an empty, abandoned field with no environmental planning and traveling routes. Excavation holes in the temple area have been filled with rainwater, while security in the area is lacking. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Over 700 unregistered historical pieces from the Gallipoli war confiscated
A total of 704 artifacts believed to date back to the Battle of Gallipoli have been returned to the historical Gallipoli peninsula in northwestern Turkey's Çanakkale, after Gendarmerie teams confiscated them in the city of Yalova. Source: Daily Sabah
February 21, 2017
Police seize 18th century icon of Jesus in southern Turkey
An icon of Jesus Christ believed to date back to the 18th century, was seized by Turkish police on Tuesday in the southern Adana province. Source: Daily Sabah
Restored Şeyh Süleyman Mosque to open for visitors
The ancient Şeyh Süleyman mosque will open to the public on Wednesday, after having been renovated as part of the Med-Art Education Project, which was carried out by the Turkish General Directorate of Foundations and the Italian Association for Architecture, Art and City Restoration. Source: Daily Sabah
Century-old ginnery in southern Turkey becomes research center
Boğaziçi University has restored a 100-year-old cotton ginnery in the southern Mediterranean city of Tarsus and transformed the building into a cultural and archaeological center to host academic pursuits. Source: Daily Sabah
February 22, 2017
Museum in Turkey's Aydın takes visitors back 2,500 years ago
With a veritable treasure trove of sculptures, the Afrodisyas Museum near Turkey’s Aegean coast takes visitors back more than two millennia to sample some of the most striking statues produced in the region. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Roman bath, health center to be revived
Archaeologists and engineers have geared up to bring a 2,000-year-old Roman bath to light in Yozgat's Sarıkaya district. The public bath, which is also called the "King's Daughter" by locals, is considered to be an important historical structure dating back to the Roman Empire. Source: Daily Sabah
February 23, 2017
Minister offers Turkish mayor elephants for ancient Hebrew inscription
Culture Minister Miri Regev used an impromptu trip to southern Turkey for a basketball game to offer a different kind of trade: Two elephants for an ancient inscription from Jerusalem, currently housed in a Turkish museum, that is considered one of the most important ancient Hebrew inscriptions in existence. Source: The Times of Israel
February 24, 2017
Rock tombs of Turkey's Şanlıurfa to open to tourism
Rock tombs nearly 2,000 years old, which have been unearthed in caves in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, are to be opened to tourists after excavations are completed. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
