November 2021 in Turkish archaeology

Submitted by Iza on Wed, 12/01/2021 - 17:39

Possibly the most amazing archaeological discovery announced in November 2021 from the area of Turkey was the discovery of seven skeletons during the excavations carried out in the area of the Bukoleon Palace. The researchers suggested that these may be the remains of the victims of the massacre carried out by the Crusaders in Constantinople. Moreover, the prehistoric past of Asia Minor was the hot topic, for instance an architectural structure thought to be 7-8 thousand years old was found in Domuztepe Mound while a 4,500-year-old structure containing a jar, many pots, and food fossils has been unearthed at the Yumuktepe Höyük. Also, in the 5000-year-old Panaztepe settlement located in the Menemen district of Izmir, structures thought to belong to the oldest period of the city were found. Finally, a study of pieces of woven fabric discovered in the Neolithic city of Çatalhöyük revealed that the textiles, dated to between 8,500 and 8,700 years old, were made of bast fibres from oak trees.

Where is the academic literature?

Submitted by Iza on Mon, 11/22/2021 - 17:47

From our correspondent Glenn Maffia residing in Didyma

As Turkish Archaeological News (TAN) readers know full well, I have been writing about the local archaeology for many years within ancient Didyma, and have recently begun to cover interesting events which have caught my notice in Miletus. It is something I find particularly fascinating and intriguing.

Return to the Miletus Cave

Submitted by Iza on Wed, 11/10/2021 - 15:54

Text and photos by Glenn Maffia

Due to the interest generated by last week’s article about the Miletus Cave, I feel obliged to expand a little further on the artefacts which were found within the dark and sinister depths of its chambers, and a particular dark page of history.

Aspar Cistern

Submitted by Iza on Mon, 11/08/2021 - 10:37

Many travellers visiting Istanbul are aware of the ancient Basilica Cistern, an underground water reservoir located near Hagia Sophia. The huge capital of the Eastern Roman Empire - Constantinople - needed a lot of water, so it had plenty of such cisterns and many of them have survived to our times. Moreover, in addition to underground reservoirs, such as the so-called Theodosius Cistern, there were huge open-air cisterns in the city, and Aspar Cistern is one of them.

This text is a fragment of a guidebook to Istanbul: "Byzantine Secrets of Istanbul".

Visit to the Sacred Cave at Miletus

Submitted by Iza on Wed, 11/03/2021 - 17:09

Text and photos by Glenn Maffia

Following the recent press reports informing us that the cave beneath Miletus’ theatre was now open to the public, I and two companions decided to journey along to the Meandros River delta to locate and explore this mysterious natural fissure.