17 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

2000-year-old tomb guarded by two bull heads found in Tharsa Ancient City, Türkiye

In Türkiye, archaeologists have discovered a new 2000-year-old tomb protected by two bull heads during excavation and cleaning efforts in the ancient city of Tharsa, located near Kuyulu village on the Adıyaman-Şanlıurfa Highway, now known as Turuş Rock Tombs.

Turuş Rock Tombs belong to the Roman Period. The tombs were built by carving the bedrock from the ground downwards. The tombs are reached after 10-13 steps descending downwards. There are various figures and reliefs on the walls and doorways of some rock tombs.

Tharsa Ancient City, which is home to 60 previously unearthed graves, continues to reveal new finds every day. Excavations in the necropolis area began in 2024, and the team has recently discovered two additional rock tombs.

Turuş Rock Tombs (Tharsa)
Turuş Rock Tombs (Tharsa)

Archaeologists said the bull’s heads were in the grave because of the belief that they would help the grave’s owner cleanse himself of evil spirits.

The bull was the god Jupiter’s symbolic animal. The bull itself represents power and strength, plus a hint of unpredictability. The bull was also a symbol of the city of Athens and was depicted on many Athenian coins as a symbol of the city’s strength and power. In Roman coinage, the bull was often used to symbolize strength and fertility and was associated with the god Mars.

Photo: İHA

The entrance of the tomb, dating back to the Roman and Byzantine periods, features two bull heads (bucranium) and garland decorations at the entrance, with a rosette in the center. It comprises three arcosolium.

Mustafa Çelik, Deputy Director of Adıyaman Museum, said, “Tharsa Ancient City consists of 3 main archaeological areas: Big Mound, Small Mound and Necropolis Area. We started excavations in the necropolis area in 2024. We added 2 more rock tombs to the rock tombs we had previously uncovered. One of them is the rock tomb we identified today. This tomb, which consists of a main space and three arcosolium, has 2 bull’s head figures on the upper part of the entrance, which we call bukranyon in ancient times. In the middle part of the bull heads, there are decorations called girlants and rosettes. We continue our efforts to make this region a center of attraction for tourism.”

It is aimed to bring tourism to the region where 60 family cemeteries are located after the excavation works.

Cover Photo: IHA

Related Articles

Scientists reconstruct Late Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean silver trade

11 July 2021

11 July 2021

Scientists have recreated the Eastern Mediterranean silver trade across a time span that includes the conventional dates of the Trojan...

The discovery of a 380-million-year-old heart sheds new light on our bodies’ evolution

16 September 2022

16 September 2022

Researchers from Curtin University have discovered the world’s oldest heart in a ‘beautifully preserved’ ancient jawed fish fossil 380 million...

An intact Punic Tomb was Discovered in Malta

29 May 2021

29 May 2021

İntact a tomb dating to the Punic period was found in Tarxien. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage has announced the...

Roman girl adorned with 1800-year-old jewelry found in a lead coffin on Mount Scopus

9 April 2023

9 April 2023

“After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the exodus of the Jewish population, late Roman Jerusalem—renamed Aelia Capitolina—had a...

Researchers sequenced the DNA 1,600-year-old sheep mummy from an ancient Iranian salt mine, Chehrabad

16 July 2021

16 July 2021

A multinational team of geneticists and archaeologists sequenced the DNA from a 1,600-year-old sheep mummy discovered from Chehrabad, a salt...

Gold from the ancient cities of Troy, Poliochni, and Ur had the same Origin

3 December 2022

3 December 2022

Using an innovative mobile laser method, scientists determined that gold found in ancient Troy, Poliochini, and Ur had the same...

Aramaic four inscriptions found for the first time in eastern Turkey

17 September 2022

17 September 2022

Four inscriptions written in Aramaic were discovered in the ancient city with a grid plan, located on an area of...

Maya Farmers May Have Planned Population Growth Contrary to Thought

19 November 2021

19 November 2021

Contrary to what was thought, Maya farmers may have planned for population growth, says a new study. According to a...

14,000 years old vessels made by Hunter-gatherers in Japan

1 May 2022

1 May 2022

The Late Pleistocene inhabitants of Tanegashima Island were making pottery about 14,000 years ago. In the Jomon period, people obtained...

2.3-meter sword found in 4th-century tomb in Japan

27 January 2023

27 January 2023

The largest bronze mirror and the largest “dako” iron sword in Japan were discovered at the Tomio Maruyama burial mound...

A long-lost branch of the Nile helped in building Egypt’s pyramids – Scientists Say

1 September 2022

1 September 2022

The Giza Pyramids are one of the world’s most iconic cultural landscapes, and they have fascinated humans for thousands of...

The Earliest Evidence of a Domesticated Dog in the Arabian Peninsula

9 April 2021

9 April 2021

Dogs have been the best friend of humans since ancient times. Although it is not known exactly when dogs were...

‘World’s oldest dated rune stone’ found in Norway

18 January 2023

18 January 2023

The oldest known Rune stone in Norway has been discovered by Norwegian archaeologists working at the Museum of Cultural History...

Ancient coins surface with Lake Iznik’s withdrawal in Türkiye

2 May 2023

2 May 2023

With the withdrawal of Lake Iznik in the northwest of Türkiye, the ancient coins found at the bottom of the...

1,000-Year-Old Mass Grave in Peru Shows Victims Bludgeoned with Star-Headed Maces

26 May 2025

26 May 2025

Archaeologists from the University of Wrocław have uncovered a 1,000-year-old mass grave at the El Curaca site in southern Peru,...