An Ancient, Intricate Tomb Carved Into Bedrock Was Found Beneath A Courtyard In Turkey
An ancient tomb carved into bedrock was found beneath a courtyard in Turkey. It was discovered in the yard of a house located in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa.
The tomb consisted of one chamber and was decorated with various sculpted motifs. The new find provides fresh insights into ancient funerary practices.
One of the walls of the rock tomb features an image of a reclining male figure leaning on his left elbow. Another carving on the walls depicts two winged women.
There was a painted inscription on the inside of the chamber’s door, but experts can’t make it out due to the damage.
So far, the tomb has not been dated, but it is believed to be roughly 2,300 years old. Its decorations are unlike any others found in ancient tombs in Turkey.
In Şanlıurfa, ancient rock tombs typically date back to the late Hittite and Roman periods. Between about 1400 and 1200 B.C.E., the Hittite Empire thrived in Anatolia, now known as Turkey. The Romans began establishing their rule in the region sometime around the 1st century B.C.E.
Back then, Şanlıurfa used to be known as Edessa. Settlements in the area began popping up around 9000 B.C.
People were drawn to the region because of the abundance of fields for grazing and wild animals on migration routes.
Edessa was a commercial center in the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. and again from the 4th to the 6th centuries A.D. The Byzantine emperor Heraclius captured Edessa in 628. A few decades later, the city fell under Arab rule.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
The rock tomb is the latest discovery from the Şanlıurfa Cultural Inventory project. Its mission is to identify new historical sites and artifacts across the province.
A team of nine archaeologists, art historians, and architects were tasked with conducting the research. It is hoped that they document thousands of cultural assets, including 1,700 registered historical sites that have been poorly studied.
This project is important because it helps protect cultural sites and artifacts from being lost for good. They are in constant danger of being destroyed by humans or natural disasters, such as the earthquakes that hit southern Turkey in 2023.
“Without documentation, the loss becomes irreversible,” said Gulriz Kozbe, the leader of the project and an art historian at Batman University. “Having a database would have accelerated restoration efforts in light of such disasters.”
The newfound rock tomb is exactly the kind of cultural asset the project aims to protect. In the tomb, the carving of the reclining man is similar to other examples of ancient funerary art.
It possibly represents the deceased individual who was buried at the site. The images of the winged women could symbolize guardian angels watching over him.
Across the ancient world, the practice of carving tombs into rock was fairly common. Many of these tombs are located in Turkey, including the Lycian Rock-Cut Tombs near the southwestern coast and the Kapilikaya Rock Tombs in the mountains to the north.
More About:News
