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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…
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A 3,200-Year-Old Hittite Tablet Preserved a Language No One Knew Existe
A Hittite scribe working more than 3,000 years ago copied a ritual that included words from a language other than Hittite. Those few lines remain the only known written example of Kalašma, a language once spoken somewhere northwest of the Hittite capital. Before the tablet was identified, Kalašma was known only as the name of…
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Byzantine Ballista Bolts Unearthed at Manzikert Reveal the Siege Before Anatolia’s Turning Point
More than nine centuries after the armies of Byzantium and the Seljuks confronted one another near Manzikert, archaeologists have uncovered evidence from the tense days that preceded the battle. Four iron ballista bolt heads have been found at Taşbaşı, a strategic area about 500 metres southeast of the inner fortress of Malazgirt in eastern Türkiye.…
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A New Excavation Area at Göbeklitepe to Open for Visitors: Neolithic Sculptures Reveal New Layers of History
A new excavation area at Göbeklitepe, listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and known as the “zero point of history,” is preparing to open to visitors. Located 18 kilometers northeast of Şanlıurfa, the Neolithic site has transformed our understanding of early human history with its T-shaped monolithic pillars, decorated with wild animal reliefs, measuring…