18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

13th-Century skeletons Unearthed in Annaea Mound

At the historical Kadıkalesi archaeological site in Turkey’s western Aydin province’s Kuşadası district, a total of five skeletons thought to date back to the 13th century have been found this year.

The excavations at Kadıkalesi, which date back more than 5,000 years and were known as Annaea in the ancient period, have been meticulously maintained. The most notable discoveries of the most recent work on the site include five human skeletons, two of which belong to infants.

Aydın Archeology Museum Director Abdulbari Yıldız, about the graves found in April during the excavations of Kadıkalesi-Annaea Mound, which has been going on for 21 years, “We have determined that the skeletons in these five graves belonged to people of the Christian religion based on the posture of their skeletons and the style of their burial. Anthropological work on the graves continues. Since there was no settlement here from the 14th to the 20th century, we can see the graves intact. All of the skeletons we found this year was undamaged” he said.

Yıldız said that the team did not see any signs of trauma on the skeletons that can be linked to their deaths. “There is only a fracture in the skull of a child,” he said. “I think it is a fracture from a fall. We found these graves near the church of the site. Since the church is a sacred place, people wanted to place their graves close to it even if this place is not a cemetery.” He added that necklaces and bracelets with cross motifs were also found in the graves.

Annaea Mound
It is estimated that the owners of the tombs in Annaea Mound are people of the Christian religion. Photo: DHA

The history of Kadıkalesi-Annaea -Höyük, which has been excavated with the support of Kuşadası Municipality, dates back to the ‘Prehistoric’ (prehistoric) period. Painted pots and pots, stone axes, and various earthenware pots have been found in the excavations so far. In Anaia-Tumulus, where sculptures belonging to the Hittite period were also unearthed, glazed ceramics from the 12th and 13th centuries AD, jewelry, saint’s icon, lead seal impressions and 8-century tile fragments with animal footprints from that period are among the finds.

Located 8 km from the city center of the Kuşadası district of Aydın province, the Annaea mound; is an important settlement because it was established at a point to control the Samos Strait, which was strategically important in its period.

The artifacts found in the Annaea excavation area are exhibited in the Aydın Museum.

Source: DHA

Related Articles

Archaeologists Discover 40,000-Year-Old Evidence of Neanderthal Habitation in Ghamari Cave, Iran

13 March 2025

13 March 2025

Iranian archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery in Ghamari Cave (also known as Qamari Cave), located near Khorramabad in Lorestan...

Lost Egyptian City Unveils Ancient Tower Houses: A Glimpse into Early Urban Innovation

15 July 2025

15 July 2025

A recent archaeological excavation in Egypt’s Nile Delta has uncovered the remains of a long-lost city featuring rare and substantial...

Archaeologists have made a shocking discovery after a re-examination of a mummified teen mom who died in childbirth

29 December 2023

29 December 2023

Archaeologists have made a shocking discovery after re-examining the mummified remains of a teen mom aged just 14-17 who died...

Human remains found at prison sewer site are 4,500 years old in East Yorkshire

26 March 2024

26 March 2024

Archaeologists investigating the site of a new sewer to serve a jail being built at Full Sutton in East Yorkshire,...

Rare Ceremonial Knives Offering Discovered in the Great Basement of Tlatelolco, Mexico

27 May 2024

27 May 2024

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)  have unearthed a very special votive offering during excavations at...

Archaeologists discovered a 2,000-year-old rock-carved face at Spain’s Tossal de La Cala castle

20 May 2023

20 May 2023

Archaeologists have discovered a rock-carved face at Toscal De La Cala, a Roman fort in Benidorm, on the east coast...

4,400 Years Old Shaman Snake Staff Found in Finland

29 June 2021

29 June 2021

A very well-preserved 4,400-year-old Shaman Snake Staff made of wood has been found in Finland. The “Snake Staff” found is...

Archaeological Dig at Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulchre Corroborates New Testament Account of Garden

3 May 2025

3 May 2025

A significant archaeological excavation nearing its conclusion at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City has yielded...

Exploring the life story of a high-status woman from isotope data in Hungary’s largest Bronze Age cemetery

29 July 2021

29 July 2021

Researchers examined 29 tombs from Szigetszentmiklós-Ürgehegy, one of Hungary’s largest Middle Bronze Age cemeteries, and one of them, a high-status...

Mysterious Mongolian Arc in Eastern Mongolia Studied for the First Time

30 December 2023

30 December 2023

Researchers have studied the 405-km wall system in eastern Mongolia known as the Mongolian Arc to learn more about its...

A Decorated Block with Decapitated Gaul Found for the First Time in Toul, France

22 July 2024

22 July 2024

A Corinthian-style carved block that was once part of the entablature of a monumental Gallo-Roman public building has been discovered...

A ‘very rare’ clay figurine of god Mercury and a previously unknown Roman settlement were discovered at the excavation site in Kent

23 February 2024

23 February 2024

At a previously unknown Roman settlement that was formerly next to a busy port but is now 10 miles from...

Beautiful’ Water-Nymph statue turns out to be Aphrodite

20 October 2023

20 October 2023

The statue of a nymph (water fairy) discovered last month during excavations in the Ancient City of Amastris was identified...

Lost 14th Century Church Discovered under a Tennis Court in Hungary

14 May 2024

14 May 2024

During an archaeological excavation in Visegrád, a fortified medieval castle on a hill overlooking the Danube in northern Hungary, the...

Family Looking for Lost Gold Earring Finds Viking Age Artifacts in Their Garden on the Island Of Jomfruland

2 October 2023

2 October 2023

A family in Norway was searching for a lost gold earring in their yard on the island of Jomfruland when...