oracle

A limestone monument found at Kibyra in southwestern Turkey has revealed how Roman-era visitors sought divine advice by throwing animal ankle bones. The study “A New Astragalos Oracle Text from Kibyra”, published in Gephyra in 2026, examines 56 possible answers preserved across the stone’s four inscribed sides. The find is especially valuable because it retains the numerical instructions needed to connect each throw with its message. Archaeologists uncovered the block in 2024 on the third terrace of Kibyra’s agora, although it had later been reused in the wall of a chapel. The ancient city lies near modern Gölhisar in Burdur Province, at a crossroads linking several regions of southwestern Anatolia, according to UNESCO’s background record on Kibyra. Researchers Şenkal Kileci