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Evidence of gladiator tombs found at the ancient city of Anavarza, which was controlled by the Roman Empire for many years. Over the centuries, Anavarza was either controlled or attacked by the Byzantine Empire, Abbasid Caliphate, and the Mamluks of Egypt. Source: Anadolu Agency

Roman Gladiator Tombs Found By Team of 54 “Dig Hunters” in Turkey

A team of fifty-four specialists in Turkey have been excavating in and around an ancient Roman amphitheater. They recently discovered an ornate burial area devoted to gladiator tombs. The setting of...
The huge mosaic of the Twelve Labors of Heracles discovered at Syedra, Turkey. Source: Turkey Department of Culture

Massive Mosaic Depicting the 12 Labors of Heracles Unearthed in Turkey

Excavations being carried out in the ancient city of Syedra, traced back to 2,900 years ago, continue to shed light on the vibrant history of what is now Turkey. Located in the Alanya district of...
Members of the international team working at the likely site of the long-lost Khan palace in Van Province, Turkey. Source: The Daily Sabah / Anadolu Agency

Long Lost Palace of Genghis Khan’s Grandson Found in Turkey

Turkish and Mongolian scientists may have found the remains of a long-lost Khan palace in eastern Turkey that they believe was built by Genghis Khan’s grandson, Hulagu Khan. Hulagu Khan was the ruler...
Latest Tavşanlı Höyük excavation site, with inset Mycenaean-like dagger-sword.	Source: Kazılar ve Araştırmalar Dairesi Başkanlığı / Turkish Dept of Excavations and Research

Mycenaean-like Dagger-Sword and Unique Seal Discovered at Anatolian Mound

Kutahya in Western Anatolia is home to one of the world’s oldest settlements, which began 8,100 years ago. At this very site, during the excavations of Tavşanlı Höyük or the Tavşanlı Mound, a 3,300-...
Roman villa with mosaic uncovered in Hatay. Source: Anadolu Agency

Roman Villa with Floor Mosaic Uncovered in Turkey’s Mosaic Hotspot

The remains of a Roman villa have recently been unearthed in Defne district of southern Turkey’s Hatay province. The ruins consist of broken-down walls and a well-preserved floor mosaic with...
Kelenderis archaeological excavation site. Source: Suzi / Adobe Stock

Infant Burial Site Along with Furnace Discovered at 2,800-year-old Kelenderis

The ancient city of Kelenderis on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey is the site of the Greek Celenderis, a port and fortress in ancient Cilicia and later Isauria. From here, a furnace for commercial...
The grotto of the seven sleepers from the Menologion of Basil II. Source: Public domain

The Ancient Grotto of the Seven Sleepers

The short story Rip Van Winkle , written in 1819 by the American writer Washington Irving, is about a man who woke up after a sleep of more than two decades. Although such a work of fiction is a...
The entrance of Mehmed II into Constantinople in 1453 AD, by Benjamin-Constant. Source: Public domain

Did Constantinople Fall Because Someone Forgot to Lock the Gate?

For over 1,000 years, Constantinople held out against a never-ending stream of failed attacks. Capital of the Byzantine Empire, a.k.a. the Eastern Roman Empire , it was famed for its heavily...
Flesh-eating sarcophagus, Assos, Turkey. Source: Häferlkaffee / Twitter

‘Meat Eater’ Sarcophagi in Turkey Turned Bodies to Skeletons in 40 Days

In the ancient city of Assos in Turkey there existed a bizarre phenomenon – the stone sarcophagi within the Assos necropolis could decompose bodies unusually fast. Instead of taking between 50 and...
This ancient Urartian bronze belt, a rare artifact from the mysterious Urartu culture, was recently discovered in the ancient city known as Satala in Turkey.                 Source: TRT Haber

Bronze Urartian Belt Proves Kingdom Extended Much Further North

The past four years of excavations in Turkey’s ancient city of Satala have produced many exciting finds. Perhaps the most remarkable of the artifacts discovered there so far are the ornate Urartian...
The ocellated turkey, or Meleagris ocellata, was seen as having sacred powers by the ancient Maya. Source: David Creswell / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Turkeys Were Worshipped by the Ancient Maya

At Thanksgiving and Christmas each year, millions of people around the world sit around the table to eat turkey. Located at the center of the table, turkey is so important that it has generated a...
Harran, City of Sin, Crusaders And Caliphs

Harran, City of Sin, Crusaders And Caliphs

Dusty winds blow around the desolate ruins on the arid plain of Harran, and the mirage of the heat conjures up images of what was once the site of a medieval hub of science. Har means ‘fire’ in...
The underground city of Derinkuyu in Turkey. Source: ninelutsk / Adobe Stock

Home to 20,000, But Who Built it? The Underground City of Derinkuyu

Deep under the Turkish town of Derinkuyu, there’s an entire world reaching 85 meters (279 ft) into the earth. Covering a vast area and with a network of labyrinthine tunnels, Derinkuyu was lost to...
Amphora dating to circa 540 BC made in Attica, Greece, depicting bees from ancient Greek mythology. Source: The British Museum / CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Getting Buzzed: The History of Hallucinogenic Mad Honey

Everyone loves honey. A delicious, sweet treat, it can be used in recipes, cosmetics, or as a sugar substitute. However, not all honey is made the same. This is incredibly clear in Nepal and Turkey,...
The Hellenistic cremation burial remains found in a 2,300-year-old tomb in the ancient city of Chalcedon that is now part of modern-day Istanbul, Turkey.		Source: Sebnem Coskun / Anadolu Agency

Rare Hellenistic Cremation Burial Found in Turkey in 2,300-Year-Old Tomb

A rare 2,300-year-old Hellenistic cremation burial has been discovered in Istanbul. Artifacts discovered in the Hellenistic-era burial tomb are revealing secrets about the city of ancient Chalcedon,...
A cat mummy on display at Aksaray Museum. 	Source: IHA/ Daily Sabah

1000-year-old Cat and Baby Mummies on Display in Turkey’s Aksaray Museum

The museum at Aksaray, the gateway of Turkey’s Cappadocia region to the West, holds a very special mummy section that displays as many as 13 local mummies to interested visitors. Astonishingly, apart...
Urfa Castle, Şanlıurfa, Turkey (Bernard Gagnon/  CC BY-SA 3.0)

From Urfa To Edessa To Şanlıurfa: Spanning 10,000 Years Of History

During the Hellenistic Period from 312 BC to 63 BC, the Seleucid Empire was a major superpower and at its apex encompassed Anatolia, Persia, the Levant, (now modern Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan...
Archaeoacoustics and Ancient Architecture: Megaliths, Music and the Mind

Archaeoacoustics and Ancient Architecture: Megaliths, Music and the Mind

Before introducing the Big Question, let’s ponder a minute. Isn’t it amazing that for hundreds of thousands of years, all of humankind lived the same way everywhere on Earth. We were all indigenous...
One of the four Umayyad inscriptions recently discovered at the ancient city of Knidos in southwestern Turkey.		Source: DHA

Four Umayyad Inscriptions Unearthed in Turkey’s Ancient City of Knidos

Four Umayyad inscriptions inscribed on limestone and marble blocks have been discovered among the ruins of the 2,600-year-old city of Knidos in western Turkey. The four Umayyad inscriptions, from...
Semih Güneri, a professor from Dokuz Eylül University who has been working on Mongolian petroglyphs for a decade, taking a rubbing of the possibly 15,000-year-old Gobi Desert petroglyphs he has identified with ancient Turkish speaking peoples.	Source: Demirören News Agency

“15,000-year-old” Gobi Desert Petroglyphs Made By Ancient Turks?

A Turkish archaeologist who is an expert on petroglyphs claims his team has found extremely old Gobi Desert petroglyphs made by ancient Turkish-speaking peoples, reports Hurriyet Daily . Although not...
The 1,500-year-old Roman mosaic depicting people enjoying a pre-hunt party. Source: DHA

Mosaic Depicts 1,500-Year-Old Roman Party Scene

Archaeologists have found the remains of 1500-year-old architectural structures, baths, and a mosaic during the seventh stage of excavations in the ancient city of Germanicia in Turkey’s southeastern...
Mithridates expertly used symbology to appeal to the multiple factions of his coalition. Source: Fernando Cortés / Adobe Stock.

A Master of Symbology: How Mithridates Eupator United the Foes of Rome

Pop culture usually depicts the relationship between Greeks and the East as tumultuous. This is due mainly to the three wars Greece fought against Persia, featured in films like 300 by Zack Snyder...
Uncovered bulls head from the northeast platform in building 77 at Çatalhöyük. Source: Çatalhöyük Research Project / CC BY-NC 4.0

How Domesticated Cattle Changed Life in Çatalhöyük

Those who have studied Çatalhöyük are aware that cattle appear to have been a hugely important animal in the Neolithic Central Anatolian town of Çatalhöyük East on the Konya Plain in modern-day...
Polish diplomat Robert D. Rokicki points to where he believes the ancient city of Thebasa is located.		Source: Anadolu Agency

Amateur History Sleuth Finds Long-Lost City of Thebasa in Turkey

A Polish diplomat assigned to his country’s embassy in Ankara, Turkey has helped solve an archaeological and historical riddle that has puzzled scholars for more than two centuries. Accomplishing a...

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