-
Anatolia’s Oldest Known Glass Bottle Reveals a Mystery From the Hittite World
More than 3,600 years ago, someone in Central Anatolia handled an object that would have been extraordinary even by the standards of the Bronze Age: a large, carefully decorated glass bottle. Found at Büklükale, a settlement on the Kızılırmak River southeast of Ankara, the vessel dates to around 1600 BCE and ranks among the oldest…
-
First In Situ Defensive Wall Discovered at the Phrygian Midas Fortress in Türkiye
Archaeologists working at Yazılıkaya, also known as Midas Fortress, in central Türkiye have uncovered a substantial section of an ancient defensive wall still standing in its original position. Researchers already knew that fortifications once surrounded parts of the Phrygian stronghold. Cuttings and wall beds carved into the bedrock showed where masonry had once stood, but…
-
A Roman Temple at Blaundos Was Built Inside a Sacred Space Centuries Older Than Itself
Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Blaundos in western Türkiye have uncovered a 250-meter-long enclosure wall that shows the city’s North Temple was built inside a sacred precinct already centuries old. The North Temple dates to roughly 1,900 years ago, but the wall surrounding its temenos has been dated to around 2,500 years ago. The…
-
A 2,100-Year-Old Adrasan Shipwreck Still Holds an Ancient Delivery That Never Arrived
Somewhere in the eastern Mediterranean around 2,100 years ago, merchants loaded thousands of newly made plates, bowls and serving dishes onto a ship and prepared them for a journey that would never reach its destination. The vessel sank off what is now Adrasan, on Türkiye’s southern coast, taking its commercial cargo to the seabed. More…
-
Pottery Found During New Search at Türkiye’s “Noah’s Ark” Formation
The pottery fragments were laid out on a table as researchers brought their 2026 field season at the Durupınar Formation to a close. The ship-shaped landform in eastern Türkiye has drawn searches for Noah’s Ark for decades, but the newly reported pieces have a more immediate question attached to them: how old are they? No…
-
New Fragment of the Kadesh Peace Treaty Discovered at Hattusa
A newly identified cuneiform tablet fragment from Hattusa belongs to the Kadesh Peace Treaty, the agreement that established peace between the Hittite and Egyptian empires more than 3,200 years ago. The fragment preserves lines concerning people who fled from one kingdom to the other, including a provision stating that their homes should not be destroyed.…
-
Three Children Left Their Footprints at Stratonikeia 1,900 Years Ago
The monumental ruins of Stratonikeia preserve the names of rulers, the decisions of civic officials and the ambitions of wealthy builders. Its latest discovery records something far quieter: the footsteps of three children who lived nearly 1,900 years ago. Archaeologists uncovered the footprints during excavations at a Roman bath complex in the ancient city, located…
-
The 1,800-Year-Old Aqueduct That Kept Roman Side Alive Is Falling Apart
Roman Side is remembered for its theatre, temples, baths and monumental fountains. Yet the water that sustained this wealthy Mediterranean port began its journey far beyond the city, in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains. Near Oymapınar in Antalya’s Manavgat district, the damaged remains of that ancient supply network still cross the landscape. Recent photographs…
-
Lost Castle from a Battle That Changed Anatolia May Have Been Found
In September 1176, a large Byzantine army advanced into Anatolia with siege engines, supply wagons and ambitions of restoring imperial control over the region. Along its route, the soldiers passed the lost castle now associated with Myriokephalon before entering a confined valley where Seljuk forces launched an attack that changed the balance of power in…