Turkish Archaeological News collects the most important, interesting and inspiring news from Turkish excavation sites. Here's the review for June 2016. Have we missed anything? Let us know by using Contact tab!
June 2, 2016
Ahlat tombstones reflect style of Orkhon inscription
Associate Professor Celil Arslan from Erciyes University Faculty of Letters Department of Art History said that the style of Orkhon inscriptions can be seen on tombstones in a cemetery located in Ahlatin, the province of Bitlis." Source: Daily Sabah
Ancient stela lost after discovery
An ancient stela last March in the Central Anatolian province of Konya’s Ereğli district has been lost, while claims emerged that the 2,700-year-old late Hittite-era stela had been sold for 6 million Turkish Liras in the southern province of Adana. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
June 6, 2016
Underground city a new face for Nevşehir
Italian academics who have been working on the restoration and conservation of rock churches in Turkey’s Cappadocia region for seven years, have said that the world’s largest underground city, which was discovered in 2014 in the Central Anatolian province of Nevşehir, will put the city on the map. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Migrants from Greece, Turkey brought agriculture to Europe in Stone Age, scientists say
Stone Age people from the Aegean Sea region moved into central and southern Europe some 8,000 years ago and introduced agriculture to a continent still dominated at the time by hunter-gatherers, scientists say. Source: Daily Sabah
June 7, 2016
Historic gravestones found under Lake Van
Underwater photographer Tahsin Ceylan, who previously discovered coral which was thousands of years old during his research in Turkey’s eastern Lake Van, recently found a pier built with Seljuk-era gravestones. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
June 12, 2016
Göbeklitepe to be closed to visitors
The ancient site of Göbeklitepe, one of the world’s most important archaeological sites and on UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites, will be closed to visitors between June 13 and Dec. 31, according to a written statement made by the Culture and Tourism Ministry. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
June 14, 2016
St Mercurius underground city in Turkey's Cappadocia ready for visitors
The St. Mercurius underground city in Turkey’s Cappadocia region has been opened to tourism, giving visitors a chance to see its unique church, mass graveyard and upright stones. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
June 15, 2016
Historic safe put under protection in Turkey's İzmir
A steel safe which was found during the restoration of the historic Osmanağa Mansion in the Aegean province of İzmir’s Çeşme district has been put under protection. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
June 16, 2016
Stairs from Roman temple found in Turkey's İzmit
Excavation works in the northwestern province of Kocaeli’s İzmit district have revealed the 17-step stairs of a temple that is believed to date back to the Roman era 2,000 years ago. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
June 17, 2016
Bursa's 'Little Venice' under excavation
Uludağ University Department of Archaeology aims to introduce Bursa's Gölyazı neighborhood, which is also called "Little Venice," to tourism after the completion of the archeological excavations currently being conducted in the region. Source: Daily Sabah
June 18, 2016
‘Ephesus of the Med’ in Kibyra to open to visitors
The ancient city of Kibyra in the southern province of Burdur’s Gölhisar district will be opened to visitors next year. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
June 21, 2016
Excavations start at Turkey’s ‘Little Venice’
Archaeological excavations have started in an area called “Little Venice,” which dates back some 2,300 years, in the Nilüfer district’s Gölyazı neighborhood in the northwestern province of Bursa. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
İzmit may become Turkey’s second Ephesus
The city of İzmit in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, once one of the four biggest cities in the Roman Empire, has the potential to become a second Ephesus in Turkey, as 138 artifacts has been unearthed during excavations there since 2001. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Historic church ruins taken under protection in Turkey's Balıkesir
The ruins of a church in the northwestern province of Balıkesir’s Edremit district have been registered and taken under protection. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
June 23, 2016
Skeleton pieces found in Yemişkapanı excavations
Continuing excavations in the field of an Ottoman era structure, the Yemişkapanı Inn in the northwestern province of Edirne, have unearthed a number of skeleton fragments thought to date back to the Roman era. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Monastery new discovery in underground city in Cappadocia
A monastery hewn from the rock has been found during excavations and cleaning works in an underground city that was discovered in 2014 in the Central Anatolian province of Nevşehir during a Turkish Housing Development Administration urban transformation project. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
June 24, 2016
Destruction of historic graves receives reaction in Bodrum
The destruction of three Roman-era graves during the construction of a house in the southwestern province of Muğla’s Bodrum district has elicited reaction from archaeologists and historians. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Underwater ancient discovery off Marmara Sea
An amateur diver has photographed an underwater ancient city 20-25 kilometers off the shore of the northwestern province of Çanakkale’s Biga district, close to the ancient sites of Priapos and Parion. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
June 27, 2016
Structures at Uşaklı Mound may be ancient Zippalanda
This year’s excavations at the Uşaklı Mound in Yozgat have unearthed two structures that may be part of “Zippalanda,” an ancient Hittite center. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
June 28, 2016
Roman mosaic unearthed in wheat field in Turkey's Kırıkkale
A Roman-era mosaic, estimated to date back to the 2nd century, has been unearthed in the Central Anatolian province of Kırıkkale’s Delice district. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Largest Urartian Museum to open in Turkey's east
The Urartian Museum, the construction of which started in 2012 after the main museum in the city was badly damaged during the major earthquake in the eastern province of Van in 2011, will house thousands of artifacts from the Urartian civilization. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Historic columns of Sardis in for cleaning
Columns that one graced Sardis, the capital of the ancient Lydian Kingdom, are getting a clean and polish to bring them back to their original state. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
2.5 million year-old mammoth fossil found in Konya, Turkey
A psychologist in Turkey's central Konya province discovered a fossil belonging to a 2.5-million-year-old mammoth, reports said on Monday. Source: Daily Sabah
