August 2018 brought an impressive number of archaeological discoveries in the area of Turkey. Among the most notable ones were: the Hellenistic tombs in Euromos, the skull bearing the traces of surgery from Aşıklı Mound in Cappadocia, and the remains of a Roman-era military observation tower in Adıyaman province. Moreover, the amphitheatre of ancient Pergamon was announced to be unearthed, and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality revealed the plans for the restoration of Boukoleon Palace.
Turkish Archaeological News collects the most important, interesting and inspiring news from Turkish excavation sites. Here's the review for August 2018. Have we missed anything? Let us know by using Contact tab!
August 1, 2018
Monumental tomb in Turkey opens new horizons in history of archaeology
The monumental tomb of King Hektamonos was discovered in an operation in 2010, and is being uncovered with the efforts of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Source: Daily Sabah
Adjoining mosque, church in southeastern Turkey likely to be added to UNESCO heritage list
Zeynel Abidin Mosque Complex and Mor Yakup (Saint Jacob) Church in Turkey's southeastern Mardin province are expected to be added in UNESCO's World Heritage list in late 2019. Source: Daily Sabah
August 2, 2018
Ancient city of Aigai in western Turkey impresses with its complicated waterworks
Researchers have discovered what they consider to be a complex system of canals and waterworks that was ahead of its time during excavations at the 2,800-year-old ancient city of Aigai in the province of Manisa in western Turkey. Source: Daily Sabah
August 3, 2018
Ancient Roman bath in Turkey, world's oldest thermal treatment center, to open for tourists
An ancient Roman bath in central Turkey is undergoing archaeological work to open its doors for tourists. Source: Daily Sabah
7 tombs dating back to Hellenistic, Roman periods unearthed in SW Turkey
Archaeologists have uncovered and restored seven tombs belonging to Hellenistic and Roman periods in Euromos, an ancient city in southwestern Turkey. Source: Daily Sabah
August 4, 2018
Ancient city of Cyzicus in Turkey eyes UNESCO nomination
Excavations have started at the ancient city of Cyzicus in the Erdek district in Balıkesir province. Source: Daily Sabah
August 5, 2018
3,000-year-old nutshell found in Hittite city in northern Turkey
A 3,000-year-old nutshell was discovered during excavation works in northern Turkey's Samsun province. Source: Daily Sabah
August 6, 2018
Mosque, church complex in Mardin eyes UNESCO world heritage list
The Zeynel Abidin Mosque Complex and Mor Yakup (Saint Jacob) Church in Turkey’s southeastern Mardin province are expected to be added to the UNESCO’s World Heritage list in late 2019. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
1,610-year-old Boukoleon Palace to be restored by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
The 1,610-year-old Boukoleon Palace, is getting ready to take its place in the historical texture of Istanbul bit by bit. Source: Daily Sabah
Troy Culture Route trails set to celebrate ancient city
A 120-kilometer touristic footpath has been set between the Troy Museum in Turkey’s northwestern province of Çanakkale and the ancient port city of Assos in the south. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Turkey’s ancient Anavarza offers visitors a glimpse of the past
Accepted into the UNESCO Tentative List of World Heritage in 2014, the ancient city of Anavarza in southern Turkey's Adana province offers visitors the chance to travel through time with its millennia-old structures and relics. Source: Daily Sabah
800-year-old bathhouse moved from ancient Hasankeyf in southeastern Turkey
The 800-year-old Artuklu Hamam is being transported from the ancient city of Hasankeyf — which will be flooded due to construction of the Ilısu dam nearby — to the new Hasankeyf Culture Park above the water line. Source: Daily Sabah
August 7, 2018
Byzantine Palace to become open air museum
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality will restore the 1,610-year-old Boukoleon Palace in Çatladıkapı, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Tourism Ministry prepares action plan to resolve Istanbul’s problems
The Culture and Tourism Ministry has prepared an action plan to resolve Istanbul’s outstanding problems and to protect and preserve the megacity’s historical texture and heritage. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Medieval Beçin city in SW Turkey eyes UNESCO's World Heritage list
The medieval city of Beçin in southwestern Turkey's Muğla province that has hosted many civilizations is preparing to be included in UNESCO's World Heritage list. Source: Daily Sabah
August 8, 2018
A million years in the making: Cappadocia launches world's first rock-carved underground museum
Cappadocia Museum, an underground museum currently being carved out of volcanic tuff rock and featuring a roof covered in endemic plants, will be the first of its kind in the world. Source: Daily Sabah
Turkey's Arslantepe eyes UNESCO world heritage list
The archaeological site of Arslantepe in Turkey's eastern Malatya province may find a place on UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2019. Source: Daily Sabah
Ancient skull draws great interest at museum
A skull, which was unearthed in the 10,000 year-old settlement of Aşıklı Mound in Cappadocia and on which the first brain surgery in history was carried out, is being displayed at the Azmi National Scientific and Industrial Museum in the Cappadocia region. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
August 9, 2018
Hattusha unearths Middle to Bronze ages
Hattusha, the capital of the Hittite Empire, dates back to the second millennium B.C. and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since Nov. 28, 1986. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Medieval city of Becin sets sights on UNESCO heritage tag
The medieval city of Becin in southwest Turkey has hosted many civilizations and is now preparing to be included in UNESCO's World Heritage List. Source: Daily Sabah
Turkey’s ancient Akdamar Church eyes UNESCO World Heritage list
Akdamar Church, a medieval Armenian church located in Turkey's eastern Van province draws the interest of foreign and domestic visitors as an important religious tourism destination. Source: Daily Sabah
August 10, 2018
Kültepe: A key center of culture
The site of Kültepe, which was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Kanesh, located 20 kilometers to central Anatolian province of Kayseri, was included in the UNESCO Tentative List of World Heritage on April 15, 2014. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Visually impaired to visit ancient city of Troy in NW Turkey
Visually impaired visitors from 20 countries will meet in the ancient ruins of Troy in northwestern Turkey's Çanakkale province between Aug. 13 and 18. Source: Daily Sabah
August 12, 2018
Central Turkish excavation site reaches back 5,500 years
Archaeological remains unearthed in Kulluoba, in Seyitgazi in the central Eskişehir province, show that the site was inhabited continuously from 3500 BC until 1900 BC. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Turkey’s ‘Colosseum’ to reunite with sun
The Pergamon Amphitheater in the Antique City of Bergama, which attracts attention with its similarity to the Colosseum in Rome, will emerge after five years when works are done. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
August 13, 2018
Ancient city Gordion sheds light on Anatolian history
Turkey's ancient city of Gordion, which is included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Tentative List of World Heritage, sheds more light on Anatolian history. Source: Daily Sabah
Roman-era military observation tower discovered in southeastern Turkey
Museum officials in southeastern Turkey's Adıyaman province said Monday they have discovered the remains of a Roman-era military observation tower. Source: Daily Sabah
Evidence for the impact of the 8.2-kyBP climate event on Near Eastern early farmers
This study reveals that animal fats preserved in pottery vessels from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site of Çatalhöyük recorded the abrupt 8.2-thousand years B.P. climatic event in their hydrogen isotopic compositions. Source: PNAS
Animal fat on ancient pottery reveals a nearly catastrophic period of human prehistory
A bit more than 8000 years ago, the world suddenly cooled, leading to much drier summers for much of the Northern Hemisphere. The impact on early farmers must have been extreme, yet archaeologists know little about how they endured. Now, the remains of animal fat on broken pottery from one of the world’s oldest and most unusual protocities—known as Çatalhöyük—is finally giving scientists a window into these ancient peoples’ close call with catastrophe. Source: ScienceMag.org
August 14, 2018
Ancient bath unearthed in city of Sebastopolis
The Turkish bath section of the 2000-year-old ancient city of Sebastopolis in the Sulusaray district of Tokat has been unearthed. Source: Daily Sabah
Treasure hunters dig Panayia Greek Orthodox Church premises in Istanbul
A group of unidentified treasure hunters dug a land belonging to the Panayia Greek Orthodox Church located in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district, Sabah newspaper reported on Aug. 14. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
August 15, 2018
Ancient human footprint found in Van
An ancient human footprint belonging to a civilization from 3,000 years ago has been uncovered at a castle in the southeastern province of Van. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
August 16, 2018
Unseen face of Ani being unearthed
Archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Ani, located within the border of Turkey-Armenia and called the cradle of civilizations as it had been home to many civilizations, have so far unearthed historical richness. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Silifke Castle to open for tourists after restorations
The historic Silifke Castle in the Silifke district of Mersin province has been undergoing extensive restoration meant to promote tourism in the region once complete. Source: Daily Sabah
St. Nicholas dig needs more land
To allow the full excavation of the historic house of St. Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus in Turkey, the state must assume control of local land around the site, according to the chief historian on duty. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
İznik's submerged basilica to be underwater archaeological museum
The İznik district of Bursa province, famous for its beautiful tiles, will soon be in the spotlight as the home of Turkey's first underwater archaeological museum. Source: Daily Sabah
August 17, 2018
Göbeklitepe farmers await foreign tourists
The inclusion of Göbeklitepe, considered the world’s oldest temple and the “zero point” of history, in the UNESCO World Heritage List has given hope to farmers growing vegetables and fruits around the historic site in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Fossils including 8.5 million year old rhino skull excavated in central Turkey’s Çankırı
Over 140 fossils, including a rhino skull believed to be over 8.5 million years old, have been discovered during an excavation in central Turkey's Çankırı. Source: Daily Sabah
August 19, 2018
Beşiktaş excavations find 5,500-year-old ancient mother, daughter
So far 69 burial cairns have been unearthed in the Bronze Age burial excavations, carried out by the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. The surprise of the excavations was two 5,550-year-old figurines, which are seven and 10 centimeters long. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
August 21, 2018
Archaeologist bids farewell to Hierapolis after 40 years
Italian archaeologist professor Francesco D’Andria, who has participated in excavations in the ancient city of Hierapolis in western Turkey for 40 years, calls Turkey his second home. Even though he had retired last year, he continued working in the ancient city, however, he has decided to stop working in September. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
August 22, 2018
3,000-year-old urn discovered in southern Turkey's Kahramanmaraş
A team of archeologists unearthed the urn - where the ashes of the deceased have apparently been placed - in the Karahüyük region of the Elbistan district as part of excavation works ongoing since 2015. Source: Daily Sabah
August 23, 2018
Excavations in ancient Satala unearth Roman legionary base
Archeological excavations have begun at the site of a Roman legionary base in the ancient city of Satala in the northern province of Gümüşhane’s Kelkit district. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
August 24, 2018
Topkapı Palace museum premises to expand fivefold
The museum premises of Istanbul’s Topkapı Palace, which was the home of Ottoman sultan for hundreds of years, will expand fivefold once the ongoing comprehensive restoration project is completed. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
August 27, 2018
History of western Black Sea hidden in Prusias ad Hypium
Archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Prusias ad Hypium, which is called the Ephesus of the Western Black Sea, have shed light on the history of the region. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
August 28, 2018
New findings show Turkey’s Direkli Cave may be twice as old as thought
Direkli Cave in Turkey's southeastern Kahramanmaraş province – previously estimated to be 14,000 years old – may in fact date back as far as 30,000 years, archeologists say. Source: Daily Sabah
August 29, 2018
Seasonal excavations kick off at Mersin's Yumuktepe Mound
A team of 25 archaeologists recently kicked off seasonal excavations at the Yumuktepe Mound, a historical site in southern Turkey's Mersin, dating back to the 7,000 B.C. Source: Daily Sabah
Ancient Roman Vespasianus Titus tunnel, world's largest man-made tunnel, awaits visitors in Turkey
The 1,380-meter-long Vespasianus Titus Tunnel, which was built completely by man power during the Roman period in the town of Çevlik of Turkey's southern Hatay province, continues to draw the attention of local and foreign tourists with its incredible construction work and architectural genius. Source: Daily Sabah
August 30, 2018
UNESCO entry sees rise in tourists at 'Anatolia's Pompeii'
Priene, an ancient city in Aydın province, known for its well-preserved buildings, has seen a boom in visitors after being included in the UNESCO Temporary World Heritage List. Source: Daily Sabah
Ancient Armenian church in Turkey set to reopen for religious service
Four years after an annual religious service was scrapped due to security concerns, an iconic Armenian church on an island in Lake Van will host a mass next month with participation of Christians from around the world, in a sign of improved security in the area. Source: Daily Sabah
August 31, 2018
Ancient razorblade found in Domuztepe
Archaeological works in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş’s Domuztepe Mound have unearthed an 8,000-year-old tool made of obsidian stone, believed to have been used as a razorblade, along with a spinner. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
