The year 2024 was an exciting time for Turkish archaeological discoveries, bringing numerous fascinating artefacts to light. Below, we bring you the summary of this remarkable year, including the new publications for the Turkish Archaeological News portal.

The top archaeological discoveries from 2024 included:

• The oldest remains of a new type of ancient wheat unearthed at the 9,000-year-old Yumuktepe Höyük in Mersin
• The collection of 10 coins believed to date back nearly 1,400 years at the ancient city of Hadrianopolis in Karabük Province
• A 3,600-year-old bronze dagger with silver rivets, believed to be linked to the ancient Minoan civilization in Crete, found in an underwater excavation near Antalya's Kumluca district
• Roman gladiator tomb at Ayasuluk Hill
• 8,600-year-old bread at Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic settlement in central Turkey
• Neolithic-era human skulls unearthed in Sefertepe
• Karahantepe's hidden relics: leopard bones and fire pits
• 64,000-year-old workshop found at Inkaya Cave
• A mosaic floor from the 2nd century BCE depicting the muse Kalliope in the ancient city of Side
• Granicus battlefield of Alexander the Great location identified
• Painted Hittite hieroglyphs discovered in the Hattusha Yerkapı tunnel
• the Hittite royal seal warning "Whoever Breaks This Will Die" found during the excavations in Kırıkkale

In 2024, Aslan Publishing House released three guidebooks written by TAN author, Izabela Miszczak. The first one, From Antalya to Alanya. Highlights of the Turkish Riviera, is a guidebook which has been written for the travellers who intend to spend active holidays on the Turkish Riviera. If you want not only to relax and sunbathe, but also to visit some fascinating prehistoric sites, historical cities, and archaeological excavations, this is the book for you. This guidebook will help history lovers to plan the entire journey along the stretch of the Mediterranean Sea coast from Antalya to Alanya and to select the places worth seeing, including rarely visited ruins of ancient cities.

The second publication, Highlights of Ephesus, is our new guidebook to the wonderful archaeological site of Ephesus. This book offers a guided tour of the most important sights in Ephesus, the absolutely must-see ones. It was created with the thought of the visitors who have limited time on their hands and want to be sure that they will not miss any highlights of the famous ancient city. There are 18 chapters devoted to particular locations within Ephesus, and they are organised geographically.

The third one is the Polish version of the guidebook to the hidden Byzantine treasures of Istanbul, and it was published as Bizantyjskie tajemnice Stambułu. The best-selling English version is available as Byzantine Secrets of Istanbul.

The Turkish Archaeological News team published many new texts in 2024. Our publications included a series of articles devoted to the region of Caria, including Lagina, Beçin Castle, Myndos Gate in Bodrum, Zeus Temple in Euromos, Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, and Iasos.

We also continued writing the articles focussed on the ancient Ephesus. Last year we published the texts about its public buildings to the north of the State Agora, the Gate of Mazaeus and Mithridates, Great Theatre, Magnesian Gate Area, and the State Agora.

The section about the archaeological museums in Turkey was expanded by the addition of the article about Hazeranlar Mansion in Amasya, Archaeological Museum in Bergama, Archaeological Museum in Silifke, the finds from Aslantepe in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, and Amasya Museum.

The Turkish Archaeological News team revisited Edirne in July 2024. This trip resulted in the publication of the article devoted to Şahabeddin Pasha (Kirazlı) Mosque in this city. We also immensely enjoyed the visit to the splendidly restored bastion Hıdırlık Tabya and its exhibitions.

Finally, let us look at the year 2024 in monthly summaries.

The most important archaeological news from the area of Turkey in January 2024 was the discovery of a collection of 10 coins believed to date back nearly 1,400 years at the ancient city of Hadrianopolis in Karabük Province. Moreover, 10 clay amphorae dating back to the second century BCE were discovered during excavations conducted at the ancient city of Amos in Muğla Province. The visitors to Istanbul may be interested in learning that, after a several years-long break, it is possible to visit the upper galleries of Hagia Sophia with its iconic mosaics. However, the entrance fee is collected for the privilege. Finally, the restoration of the Temple of Athena in Side, that started two years ago, is due to be completed in 2024. Sadly, January 2024 was also marked by the passing away of Glenn Maffia, our friend, Turkish Archaeological News correspondent, and the author of the guidebook to ancient Didyma, Faint Whispers from the Oracle.

In February 2024, the focus of the Turkish archaeologists seemed to be ancient Pergamon, where the cultural revitalization project was launched with a $32M budget. The project is aimed at the revitalization and conservation of the rich cultural heritage of Pergamon, modern-day Bergama, through extensive archaeological excavations. Moreover, as a part of research on medicinal plants in Bergama, the academics from Ege University were investigating the Galen's (the renowned ancient Roman physician) prescriptions.

March 2024 brought many fascinating archaeological discoveries in the area of Turkey. Among the most sensational ones, the researchers announced that they had discovered about 8,600-year-old bread at Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic settlement in central Turkey. Moreover, a 2700-year-old children's cemetery was discovered during ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Tenedos in Bozcaada island. Finally, the archaeologists unearthed the earliest known evidence of body perforation in skeletons dating back 11,000 years at the Boncuklu Tarla excavation site in southeastern Turkey.

April 2024 saw the works nearing completion at the ancient lighthouse of Patara, once the capital of the Lycian League. Meanwhile, during the archaeological excavations in Hıdırlık Tower, one of the historical symbols of Antalya, the famous holiday resort in the south of Turkey, an 800-metre-long colonnaded street of the Roman period was discovered. Finally, a new chapter in the Hittite world was revealed by painted hieroglyphs discovered in the Hattusa Yerkapı tunnel.

May 2024 saw several major archaeological discoveries made in the area of Turkey. In the western part of the country, the statue head of Hygieia, the Greek goddess of health, was found stuck between two rocks in Laodicea while the excavations carried out in the ancient city of Smyrna in Izmir have unearthed figures and objects with Egyptian civilization influences. In the south of the country, a mosaic floor from the 2nd century BCE depicting the muse Kalliope was discovered in the ancient city of Side. In the southeast, a 2000-year-old tomb protected by two bull heads was found during excavation and cleaning efforts in the ancient city of Tharsa, located near Kuyulu village on the Adıyaman-Şanlıurfa Highway. In the northwest, rescue excavations at the Reşitköy Dam site unearthed Roman structures, including a church, and a baptistery. Finally, in the same region of Turkey, renovation started in the historical Kaleiçi district of Edirne.

The beginning of June 2024 brought the sad news of the passing of Sabine Ladstätter, the former head of the excavations of Ephesus. Meanwhile, the works in Ephesus continue, now headed by Martin Steskal, who has recently announced that this year's works are focussed on the Coressian Gate, one of the important city gates, and on the west side of the Serapis Temple. Moreover, the ancient city of Ephesus hosted some 130,000 people, becoming the most visited museum in Türkiye during the nine-day Eid holiday. After the initiation of the night museum project, Ephesus also welcomes its visitors during the night hours thanks to its lighting system.

July 2024 brought some sensational archaeological discoveries in the area of Turkey. Among the most fascinating ones, the Hittite royal seal warning "Whoever Breaks This Will Die" was found during the excavations in Kırıkkale. Meanwhile, the archaeologists unearthed the Koressos gate, one of the three main entrances to the ancient city of Ephesus, while the underwater studies in Parion, a 2,700-year-old port city in Kemer village of Biga district of Çanakkale, revealed the second ancient port of the city. Finally, a recently published study suggests that a woman buried in the upper reaches of the Tigris River in south-eastern Türkiye around 12,000 years ago may have been a shaman believed to have had a spiritual connection with wild animals.

August 2024 was an extremely busy month for the archaeologists working in the area of Türkiye. Among the most important discoveries, we should mention a monumental Zeus head found in Aphrodisias and a bust of the sponsor who commissioned the construction of the theatre’s stage building in Prusias ad Hypium unearthed near the western entrance of the theatre. Moreover, in a remarkable underwater excavation near Antalya’s Kumluca district, archaeologists have discovered a 3,600-year-old bronze dagger with silver rivets, believed to be linked to the ancient Minoan civilization in Crete. Finally, the figure of a running wild donkey carved on a stone was found during excavations at Karahan Tepe, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site located in Şanlıurfa Province.

September 2024 brought a real avalanche of archaeological discoveries from the area of Türkiye. In this summary, let us focus on the finds announced for the eastern and southeastern parts of the country, frequently overlooked over the much more popular Aegean and Mediterranean regions. Firstly, a massive floor mosaic of 84 square meters, which is thought to belong to the Late Roman or Early Byzantine period, was discovered in the Salkaya village of Elazığ, located in the Eastern Anatolia. Then, the traces of a settlement dating back about 6,000 years were found during excavations at Değirmenler Mound in the eastern province of Erzurum. Next, three bronze shields and a bronze helmet dedicated to Haldi, the chief god of the Urartians, were discovered during excavations at the Ayanis Castle in Van province. What's more, following restoration efforts, 3,000-year-old underground cave dwellings in the country’s eastern province of Mardin’s Midyat have been transformed into a captivating tourist attraction. Finally, archaeological excavations in Sefertepe, located in Türkiye’s Şanlıurfa, have uncovered two significant decorative items – one depicting a leopard and the other featuring a vulture and a human figure.

The results of archaeological excavations from the area of Türkiye announced in October 2024 shed light on various aspects of everyday life in ancient Asia Minor. The dietary habits were revealed at the 9,000-year-old Yumuktepe Höyük in Mersin where the oldest remains of a new type of ancient wheat were unearthed. The excavations at the ancient site of Assos, located in Çanakkale’s Ayvacik district, have brought to light 1,700-year-old ceramic chamber pots that were discarded after use. Finally, the works in the ancient city of Savatra, in Konya, uncovered infant skeletons buried inside clay pots.

The archaeological discoveries announced in Turkey in November 2024 strongly focussed on the Urartian heritage of the eastern part of the country. During archaeological excavations in Van’s Tuşba district, a basalt stone statue weighing nearly one ton, dating back to the Urartian period, was uncovered. In the excavations at an Urartian-era fortress in Van’s Ipekyolu district, archaeologists uncovered 42 inscribed pithoi, large ancient storage jars. Moreover, the excavations at Ayanis Castle in Van's Tuşba district in eastern Türkiye revealed the grandeur of the ancient fortress, once a symbol of the Urartian Kingdom, as newly uncovered walls highlight its impressive structure.

December 2024 was the month of several significant archaeological discoveries made in the area of Turkey. Ongoing excavations at the Prusias ad Hypium in the Konuralp region unearthed three significant Roman-era artefacts. A cylindrical seal made of jade stone dating back to 4,400 years ago was found in Kütahya's Seyitömer Höyük. Moreover, in Bozcaada island, a castle bath dating back 366 years to the reign of Sultan Mehmed IV was uncovered. Finally, a 2,700-year-old wall built by the Lydians to protect the ancient city of Daskyleion from attacks was found at the shores of Lake Manyas in Bandirma in Balikesir Province.