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1,400-year-old ancient city found in Osmaniye |
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A
castle and an ancient city thought to be almost 1,400 years old have
been discovered in southern Osmaniye province. Excavations in the area,
carried out by teams from Kocaeli University's archaeology department
with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, first
revealed the ruins in 2006.
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Stating
that the castle and the ancient city were surrounded by city walls and
that they have found ceramic pieces, Associate Professor Füsun Tülek
told the Anatolia news agency: “We found Umayyad ceramics dating back
to the late seventh and early eighth centuries. We also frequently
encountered ceramics from the ninth century. Yet, we did not find
ceramics dating earlier than the seventh century. We are certain that
the castle and ancient city belong to the early Islamic period.”
Tülek
also said the palaces, mosques, baths and military structures in the
city feature elements of Umayyad architecture, adding: “This city is on
the route to Baghdad and the Silk Road. This city, from the early
Islamic period, is older than Anavarza Castle, which was managed by a
Turkish emir during the Abbasid era.” Highlighting that the Umayyads
chose flat regions when constructing cities, Tülek continued: “The
[castle] was on both a military route and a trade route and served
military, political and commercial purposes for a long time. Then it
fell into disrepair.”
Copyright: TZ
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