18 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

1,500-year-old Byzantine artifacts found under a peach orchard in Turkey’s Iznik

In the world-famous historical city of Iznik, which was the capital of four civilizations, a farmer found coins and historical artifacts in his peach orchard. The artifacts are believed to belong to the 1,500-year-old Byzantine period.

Özkan Yılmaz, a farmer, artifacts found in the orchard that resemble a tablet with a cross and figures of children on them.

Iznik has been the capital city of four civilizations and such historical pieces are proof that our land is full of historical treasures. I was digging for peaches here and came across a shining object with some small coins next to it. I was surprisingly happy and excited when I realized what these objects are,” said Yılmaz.

Yilmaz said that he will deliver the historical artifacts to the museum as they enhance national history, and believes it is a moral duty to preserve treasures.

1,500-year-old artifacts bearing a cross, and some coins in a peach orchard in Iznik, Turkey Photo: IHA Photo

İznik is a city on the eastern shore of the same-named lake and is 86 kilometers (km) northeast of Bursa. Iznik was built between olive groves, vineyards, and orchards and is encircled by 2,000-year-old walls that are about 5 km long. The Cicekli, Karadin, and Cakırca mounds, which are close to the city, contain the remains of a civilization that existed 2,500 BC. The established settlements was named as ‘Helikore’ before the migration of Thracian tribes in the 7th century BC Khryseapolis (Gold City) name is read on the printed coins.

The city is renovated by Macedonian emperor Alexander’s general Antigonus in BC 316 years and the city is referred as Antigoneia. After the death of Alexander, the battle between Antigonus and the generals Lysimakhos is resulted with Lysimakhos’victory and he named the city after his wife Nicaea – the daughter of Antipatros.

An important city in early Christian history, İznik (known in ancient times as Nicaea) was the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea. These councils established key tenets of Christianity such as the Nicene Creed and sainted how Christians should interact with icons.

Related Articles

Salt May Have Been Used as Money in Exchanges

24 March 2021

24 March 2021

Salt has always been a precious metal. Salt was needed in many areas, from the preservation of food to the...

Two more Giants discovered at Mont’e Prama in Sardinia, Italy

7 May 2022

7 May 2022

Two more Giants have emerged from the Mont’e Prama excavations in Sardinia: both of the new statues have been described...

3,500-Year-Old Dining Set Found at Konya Karahöyük, in Türkiye

5 September 2025

5 September 2025

Archaeologists in Türkiye have uncovered an extraordinary 3,500-year-old dining set, including a jug, plate, and cup, during excavations at Konya’s...

Authorities in New York have been accused by leading academics of repatriating fake Roman artifacts to Lebanon

19 November 2023

19 November 2023

Leading academics from France and the United Kingdom have accused New York authorities of returning fake Roman artifacts to Lebanon....

Archaeologists have uncovered the first human representations of the people of mythical Tartessos

19 April 2023

19 April 2023

Archaeologists representing Spain’s National Research Council (CSIS) excavating at the site of Casas del Turunuelo have uncovered the first human...

“Unprecedented” Phoenician necropolis found in southern Spain

28 April 2022

28 April 2022

A 4th or 5th-century B.C Phoenician necropolis has been found at Osuna in Southern Spain. A well-preserved underground limestone vault...

Discovery Shedding Light on the Mysteries of Anatolia: 3500-year-old Double-Headed Eagle Seal

21 October 2024

21 October 2024

A grain silo and two different seal impressions, one of which is a double-headed eagle, were found during the excavation...

A 2,000-Year-Old Shoe Discovered in a German Bog

22 June 2021

22 June 2021

Archaeologists discovered a leather shoe that had been lost in a bog for 2,000 years and believe it may have...

An Iron Age Necropolis was discovered in the Normandy, northwestern France

11 May 2022

11 May 2022

A modest Iron Age agricultural settlement excavated at Blainville-sur-Orne in Normandy, northwest France, led to the unexpected discovery of a...

Egyptian mission discovered five ancient water wells in North Sinai

1 March 2022

1 March 2022

A team of Egyptian archeologists working in the Tell El Kedwa discovered five ancient wells which are believed to be...

200,000-year-old hand axe discovered in the northern part of Saudi Arabia

5 November 2023

5 November 2023

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) of Saudi Arabia has announced that archeological excavation teams at the Qurh site in...

In southern Turkey, an ancient quake-damaged structure was discovered

9 November 2021

9 November 2021

In the ancient city of Perre in southeastern Turkey, a building damaged in an earthquake believed to have happened in...

The oldest trace of human activity discovered in North America dates back 23,000 years

26 September 2021

26 September 2021

A recent fossil footprint found in New Mexico, the United States, indicates that humans existed in North America about 23,000...

Well-Preserved Funerary Enclosures, Mausoleums, and Gladiator Epitaph Discovered in Ancient Roman Colony of Liternum, Italy

22 March 2025

22 March 2025

Recent archaeological excavations in the ancient Roman colony of Liternum, located in present-day Giugliano in Campania, Italy, have unveiled significant...

A One-of-a-Kind Roman Tomb with Bilingual Inscription: The First Monumental Discovery in Dibra, Albania

4 September 2025

4 September 2025

Archaeologists have uncovered a monumental Roman-era tomb in Strikçan, near Bulqiza, in northern Albania’s historic Dibra region, approximately 90 kilometers...