September 2022 marked the 116th anniversary of the archaeological excavations in Hattusha, once the capital of the Hittite Empire. An 8,200-year-old temple structure was found during the 30th excavation season of the excavations at another major archaeological site in the area of Asia Minor, Çatalhöyük. Moreover, in the famous ancient city of Troy, the remains of a 3,700-year-old domed oven bearing the characteristics of Anatolian culture were discovered. Finally, during the excavations carried out in Bergama (ancient Pergamon), the tomb of the Priest Markos was unearthed.
Turkish Archaeological News collects the most important, interesting and inspiring news from Turkish excavation sites. Here's the review for September. Have we missed anything? Let us know by using Contact tab!
September 1, 2022
Ancient sculpture pieces put together
Thousands of pieces that have been unearthed during the Myra and Andriake excavations in the southern province of Antalya’s Demre district are being put together. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
The tomb of the “Bird Oracle Markos” was found in the ancient city of Pergamon
During the excavations carried out in the Ancient City of Bergama, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the tomb of the Priest Markos, the Bird Oracle of Antiquity, was unearthed. Source: Arkeonews
September 3, 2022
Hattusha excavations continue for more than a century
Excavations that started 116 years ago in the ancient city of Hattusa, once the capital of the Hittite Empire and inscribed on the “Memory of the World List” of UNESCO, are still ongoing. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
September 4, 2022
“Urartian Royal garbage dump” was found during excavations at Ayanis Castle
During the excavations carried out in the Ayanis Castle, which was built by the Urartian King Rusa II on the hill overlooking Lake Van, a new area used as a “garbage dump” by the royal family in the Urartians was unearthed. Source: Arkeonews
An inscription containing the Turk name was discovered for the first time in Anatolia
For the first time in the pre-Islamic Early period Turkish history, an inscription bearing the inscription expression “Turk” and written “Turkoglu” in the Greek alphabet was found at the excavation site of the Ancient City of Savatra in Konya, Turkey. Source: Arkeonews
September 6, 2022
An inscription pointing to the existence of the cult of Asclepius was found in the ancient city of Hadrianaupolis, which was used as a settlement in the Late Chalcolithic, Roman, and Early Byzantine periods in Eskipazar, a district of Karabuk province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. Source: Arkeonews
September 7, 2022
An 8,200-year-old temple structure found in Çatalhöyük
An 8,200-year-old temple structure was found during the 30th excavation season of the excavations at Çatalhöyük, one of the first urbanization models in Anatolia and the world. Source: Arkeonews
September 8, 2022
A stone tub was found in the large bath, whose birth was mentioned in a work by the Turkish scholar and poet Anili Kadı Burhaneddin-i Anevi, during the excavation at the Ani Archaeological Site in Kars province in eastern Turkey. In one of his works, Kadı Burhaneddin-i Anevi from Ani mentioned the bath as his birthplace. Source: Arkeonews
Skeletons found in ancient city
During the excavations in the mosaic area of the ancient city of Perre in the southeastern province of Adıyaman, a 1,800-year-old kistvaen (burial chamber), containing four skeletons, has been found. No valuable artifacts were found in the burial chamber. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
3,700-year-old domed oven shows links with Anatolian culture in Troy
In the ancient city of Troy, within the boundaries of the village of Tevfikiye village in the center of northwestern Çanakkale province, the remains of a 3,700-year-old domed oven bearing the characteristics of Anatolian culture have been found. Source: Daily Sabah
September 9, 2022
Archaeologists find ornamental bronze wall plate in eastern Türkiye
An intact bronze plate believed to be used as a wall ornament by the royal Urartian family has been unearthed during the ongoing excavations at Ayanis Castle in eastern Türkiye. Source: Daily Sabah
September 12, 2022
An exciting discovery in Hattusa, the capital of the Hittites
249 new hieroglyphs have been discovered in the Yerkapı Tunnel in Hattusa the capital of the Hittites. Source: Arkeonews
September 13, 2022
Excavations continue at Apollo Sanctuary
Excavations and archaeological surface research have been going on for two years in the Taşlıca area of the western province of Muğla’s Marmaris district. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
September 14, 2022
New discoveries show that Claros continued to serve as an oracle center after Christianity
Game boards and forked cross motifs dating to the fifth and seventh centuries AD were discovered at the ancient Greek temple of Claros, on the southwest coast of Izmir, one of the most important pagan sanctuaries of Ionia. Source: Arkeonews
Experts discover coin minted during reign of Ottoman Sultan Orhan
Scientific studies at Karacahisar Castle in northwestern Eskişehir province, which started with a surface survey for the first time in 1999, have been continuing with excavations. During the archaeological digs, a coin minted on behalf of Orhan Bey, also known as Orhan Ghazi (Turkish for war veteran), the second ruler of the Ottoman Empire, has been discovered. Source: Daily Sabah
September 15, 2022
Thrace’s largest theater unearthed in Perinthos
Excavations continue to unearth the largest theater in Thrace, located in the Ancient City of Perinthos in the Marmara Ereğlisi district of Tekirdağ. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
September 16, 2022
Ancient bath with mosaic restored
A Roman Bath, which was built in the fifth century A.D. and used for 200 years, has been restored in the ancient port city Anemurium, located on a 600-hectare area in the southern province of Mersin. While the cleaning and restoration works of the floor mosaic in the dressing room of the bath continue, this year the bath started to host visitors. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
September 18, 2022
Aramaic four inscriptions found for the first time in eastern Turkey
Four inscriptions written in Aramaic were discovered in the ancient city with a grid plan, located on an area of approximately 270 hectares in Erciş district of Van province in eastern Turkey. The inscriptions are expected to shed light on the history of the ancient city. Source: Arkeonews
September 20, 2022
9,300-year-old Gre Filla Mound in southeastern Turkey to be relocated
While public criticism continues due to the fact that Gre Filla, known as Diyarbakır’s Göbeklitepe, is under the dam, Diyarbakır Culture and Tourism Provincial Director Cemil Alp in a statement to the newspaper Mücadele Gazete that Gre Filla will be moved as it is. Source: Arkeonews
St Nicholas Memorial Museum gets a facelift
The Culture and Tourism Ministry has initiated a comprehensive restoration work at the world-famous St. Nicholas Memorial Museum, one of the holy places of the Orthodox world, in the southern province of Antalya’s Demre district to give it a facelift. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
September 21, 2022
In the excavations of the Early Bronze Age Küllüoba Höyük (Kulluoba Mound) in Eskişehir, where the first urbanization structure of 5000 years ago in Anatolia was unearthed, vessels belonging to 4,500 years ago, which were found to contain painkillers medicine, were found. Source: Arkeonews
Ancient child grave found in Bathonea
A 1,500-year-old grave of a child has been unearthed in the ancient port city of Bathonea in Istanbul’s Avcılar district, with a bracelet and a rattle toy also found buried along with the child. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
September 27, 2022
Roman-era marble sundial found for the first time in Aizanoi
Archaeologists have unearthed a Roman-era marble sundial in the ancient city of Aizanoi in the Çavdarhisar district of Kütahya province in Turkey’s Aegean region. Source: Arkeonews
September 28, 2022
12,000-year-old ‘public building’ unearthed in southeastern Turkey’s Mardin
Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a “public building” thought to be 12,000 years old at Boncuklu Tarla in the Ilısu neighborhood of the Dargeçit district of Mardin province in southeastern Turkey. Source: Arkeonews
Unique ceramic figures were discovered in the excavations carried out this year in the ancient city of Klazomenai in the Urla district of Izmir. Among the artifacts were the 2,500-year-old a rare perirrhanterion (wash-basin) and the wash-basin foot and base decorated with chariot races. Source: Arkeonews
September 29, 2022
Klazomenai, ceramic center of ancient period
A 2,500-year-old sink (perirrhanterion) has been found during this year’s excavations in the ancient city of Klazomenai, which was the center of ceramic production in the Urla district of İzmir. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Ottoman cups found in Agora of Smyrna in Izmir
During the ongoing excavations in the ancient Agora of Smyrna, an ancient site located in the Mezarlıkbaşı neighborhood in western Izmir, experts have unearthed fragments of cups and plates from the Ottoman Period. Source: Daily Sabah
September 30, 2022
4,000-year-old cylinder seal found in Blaundos excavations
A 4,000-year-old cylinder seal was found during the excavations of the ancient city of Blaundus (or Blaundos, as it is known by some), located within the borders of the western Anatolian city of Uşak. Source: Arkeonews
