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Closeup of the Bronze Age mosaic at Usa̧klı Höyük. Source: Anacleto D'Agostino / Usa̧klı Höyük Archaeological Project

World’s Oldest Mosaic Unearthed in Turkey

Archaeologists in Turkey believe that they have uncovered the oldest mosaic yet found. This paved floor made of irregular colored stones was unearthed during fieldwork in what is believed to have...
Photos of the Ice Age lake Dipsiz in Turkey before (Hurriyet Daily News) and after (Daily Sabah) the archaeological excavations.

12,000-Year-Old Lake Destroyed in Treasure Hunt for Roman Gold

A 12,000-year-old Ice Age lake has dried up after a team of treasure hunters conducted invasive excavations that were authorized but highly controversial. Having obtained permission from the...
Yumuktepe mound in Mersin, Turkey  Source:  Essizmercin.com

7,000-year-old Fortress Found Under the Yumuktepe Mound

Archaeologists in Turkey have uncovered a section of a prehistoric fortress wall. It was found at the Yumuktepe mound, which dates back to the Neolithic period, some 9,000 years ago. This fortress is...
Left: The excavation site at Zincirli, southern Turkey. (Lucas Stephens)Top Right: Baking and cooking pots and trays found at Zincirli, including a ceramic pot with soot still left on the bottom from when it was last used (left). Bottom Right: Items found at Zincirli include bronze needles stored in a bone case (top left), a bronze figurine of a goddess (left), and animal knucklebones often used as dice (bottom). (Roberto Ceccacci)

3,500 Years Ago, Hittites Sacked and Razed an Unwary City

Archaeologists in Turkey have unearthed a city that was sacked by the Hittites over 3,500 years ago. One afternoon more than 3,500 years ago, hundreds of families were getting about their everyday...
The Seljuks invaded Central Asia and Southeast Russia in the 11th century.

The Seljuks: Nomads Who Built an Empire and Took On Byzantine Power

The Seljuk Empire was a medieval empire that existed between the 11th and 12th centuries. They are most famous for their invasions and battles against the Byzantine Empire and later their role in the...
Spirit poles on Olkhon Island, Lake Baikal, Russia.

Puzzling Prehistoric Posts: The Enigmatic Spirit Poles of Eurasia

Totem poles are often seen as quintessential features of the Northwest Coast of America. Simon Fraser University lists ten types of American totem pole, which indicate their diversity and how the...
Sogmatar temple ruins

The Celestial Temple of Sogmatar: A Sacred Site Dedicated to Sin and the Planets

Ancient Arab accounts tell of a mysterious temple in eastern Anatolia dedicated to the planets. The ruins surrounding the modern village of Sogmatar used to be an important city during the...
Artist’s representation of the Hittite city of Hattusa in Anatolia.

The Anatolian Histories Part 1: Emerging Empires and Lands Changing Hands

What comes to the mind when one says Anatolia? Does the phrase “land of the rising sun” (as the ancient Greeks called it) appear? Or, because it technically belongs to the Middle East, do you think...
Analyzing Mummy Genes: Were Ancient Egyptians closely Related to Middle Easterners?

Analyzing Mummy Genes: Were Ancient Egyptians closely Related to Middle Easterners?

Egypt has been thought of by many as a quintessentially African civilization. There is, however, evidence that the ancient Egyptians may have been less African than modern Egyptians, at least...
Archaeologists excavating in Yassitepe, Turkey have unearthed a Greek settlement consisting of luxurious houses. This suggests that luxury life began in Asia Minor almost 5,000 years ago.

Archaeologists Uncover Evidence of Luxurious Lifestyle 5,000 Years Ago in Turkey

Archaeologists excavating in Yassitepe, Turkey for the past seven years have unearthed an ancient Greek settlement consisting of luxurious houses. So far, the findings suggest that luxury life began...
The complex includes both Christian and Mithraic places of worship, a huge castle, underground features, rock-cut tombs, and water channels.

Mithraism May Become a Bit Less Mysterious with New Temple Discovery in Turkey

In ancient times, there was an Aryan religion, Mithraism, so veiled in secrecy that only rumor of its beliefs and rites were recorded. Archaeologists are hoping to shed more light on the mysteries of...
Quarrying and Blasting May Destroy 2100-Year-Old Castle Site and Statue of Mother Goddess in Turkey

Quarrying and Blasting May Destroy 2100-Year-Old Castle Site and Statue of Mother Goddess in Turkey

Blasting and quarrying of rock at a site near the ancient Kurul Castle in Turkey have endangered the structure and a precious statue of the ancient goddess Cybele. The castle, which dates back about...
The Library of Pergamum: A Contender for the Greatest Library of the Ancient World

The Library of Pergamum: A Contender for the Greatest Library of the Ancient World

Pergamum, Anatolia, now the modern Turkish town of Bergama, was one of the most important cities in the Hellenistic Greek age. It was culturally rich, with an extensive library at its heart. The city...
Rental Agreement Discovered in Turkey Shows Tenancy Was No Easier 2,200 Years Ago

Rental Agreement Discovered in Turkey Shows Tenancy Was No Easier 2,200 Years Ago

Archaeologists have unearthed a unique inscription in the ancient city of Teos in the Seferihisar district of Izmir Province, Turkey. The text carved in stone is a rare example of an ancient rental...
Archaeologists Excavate Ancient Anatolian Health Center Founded by Rich Roman Subject-King

Archaeologists Excavate Ancient Anatolian Health Center Founded by Rich Roman Subject-King

A clinic, a morgue, and burial chambers are being excavated in the ancient city of Philadelphia in central Turkey, where archaeologists have found surgical instruments and two moon symbols on statues...
Neolithic farmers

New Study Indicates that Europe Owes Ancestry and Agriculture to Early Anatolian Farmers

Anatolia was a source of not just agriculture but of human ancestry during the advent of farming in Europe around 8,000 years ago, according to a researcher from Stockholm University. “When farming...
The bull-leaping fresco of Knossos palace, in Crete, Greece, dated to about 1600 to 1450 BC. The bull was an important animal in Minoan religion and closely related to the great goddess the Cretans worshiped.

Origins of the Mysterious Minoans Unraveled by Scientists

The Minoan people of Crete—Europe’s first high civilization—present a mystery that has long perplexed scholars and inspired much speculation: Where did these people, whose culture and artifacts...
Ancient tunnel found inside Geval Castle.

4,000-Year-Old Hidden Tunnel Discovered in Ancient Castle in Turkey

Excavations being carried out at Geval Castle in Central Anatolia, Turkey, have revealed a secret tunnel that had been built by the Hittites about 4,000 years ago. Around 150 meters of the tunnel,...
Neo-Hittite Stone relief

Would you enjoy this 4,000-year-old Hittite feast?

An archaeological team excavating an ancient center of the Hittite civilization in Turkey have recreated a 4,000-year-old Hittite feast including sweet breads, casseroles, grilled lamb hearts, and...
Divers and marine archaeologists used high-resolution sonar systems to survey the ancient sea route and associated features.

Researchers in Turkey identify Bronze Age sea route and ancient shipwrecks

Marine archaeologists working in the eastern Mediterranean Sea are reconstructing the facts around what they call a 5,000-year-old shipping route and shipbuilding center that have been long submerged...
Men smoking pipes, Ottoman era, Turkey (Antiller / Flickr)

Medicinal Use of Narcotics Unearthed at Ottoman Archaeological Site in Turkey

A team of archaeologists carrying out excavations at Kaman-Kalehoyuk in Turkey found evidence of the medicinal use of henbane seeds. The seeds, which were found in an old hearth, have therapeutic...
A necropolis was found under land upon which a new culture center is being built in Sinop

Remnants of ancient necropolis excavated in Black Sea city in Turkey

A necropolis is being excavated at a veritable crossroads of ancient civilizations, in Sinop, Turkey. Workers found remnants of the 4 th century BC city of the dead while building a culture center in...
Grave from Körtik Tepe 8,000 to 7,000 BC showed plastering of skeleton with cut marks on the bones.

Prehistoric Anatolians removed flesh from bones to ease transition to death

New research suggests that people in a Stone Age village in Turkey cut the flesh off the bones and skulls of several people who were dying or had just died then painted and/or plastered the bones and...
Ancient underground city in Anatolia

The ancient underground city discovered beneath a house in Anatolia

In 2014, a home owner living in the Melikgazi district of Kayseri province in Anatolia made a surprising discovery while clearing out an area under his house – a subterranean city, of which 4,000...

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