8 October 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.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



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

To The West of Turkey Ancient Quarry Found

28 March 2021

28 March 2021

Turkey is very lucky in terms of ancient settlements. It is home to many unexplored artifacts, along with well-preserved ancient...

World’s Oldest Place Name Signs

4 February 2021

4 February 2021

Throughout the history of the world, our interest and curiosity in ancient cultures and lives continue to increase day by...

The Headless Corpses of Somersham was Victims of Roman Executions

30 May 2021

30 May 2021

Excavations at Knobb’s Farm in Somersham, Cambridgeshire, unearthed three small late Roman graves on the outskirts of an agricultural village....

During the demolition work, a 2,500-year-old bull heads alto relievo was discovered in Sinop

20 April 2022

20 April 2022

During the demolition work of the buildings in front of the historical city walls for the City Square National Garden...

Chinese Paleontologists discovered a 170-million-year-old flower

29 March 2023

29 March 2023

Chinese paleontologists discovered fossils of an ancient plant dating back approximately 170 million years. The Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing...

Archaeologists Unearth Monumental Relief Depicting Assyrian King and Major Deities in Ancient Nineveh

15 May 2025

15 May 2025

A team of archaeologists from Heidelberg University has made an extraordinary discovery in the ancient city of Nineveh, near modern-day...

Grain Barns dating back 6,000 years unearthed in China

15 December 2022

15 December 2022

Chinese archaeologists have revealed a cluster of 16 ancient granaries that traced back to the mid-late period of the Yangshao...

New study reveals unique characteristics and complex origins of late Bronze Age swords discovered in the Balearic Islands

25 November 2024

25 November 2024

A recent study uncovered a wealth of new information regarding the production, material makeup, and cultural significance of Late Bronze...

Scientists Find Aztec ‘Death Whistles’ do Weird Things to the Listeners’ Brains

18 November 2024

18 November 2024

New research reveals that one of the Aztecs’ most chilling artefacts, clay death whistles, which resemble a human skull and...

Over 7,000-Year-Old Traces of Life Discovered in Ratina Cave on Šćedro Island, Croatia

28 February 2025

28 February 2025

Recent archaeological excavations on Šćedro Island, located south of Hvar, have unveiled significant findings that challenge previous understandings of the...

Archaeologists find new clues about North Carolina’s ‘Lost Colony’ from the 16th century

11 May 2024

11 May 2024

Archaeologists from The First Colony Foundation have yielded a tantalizing clue about the fate of the Lost Colony, the settlers...

A sculpture of a snake-bodied Roman-German deity was discovered in Stuttgart

23 April 2024

23 April 2024

A sculpture of a snake-bodied Roman-German deity was discovered at the Roman fort in Stuttgart, Germany. Since the beginning of...

Inscriptions That Could Change the History of Turkish Migration to Anatolia Are Disappearing: Esatlı Kaya Inscriptions

30 March 2025

30 March 2025

Researchers made a significant discovery during field research conducted in 1994 in Esatlı village, Mesudiye, Ordu. They introduced a series...

Explore 1,400-year-old ruins, submerged in Eastern China – Atlantis of China

10 June 2023

10 June 2023

Deep in Qiandao Lake, between China’s Five Lion Mountains, lie the mysterious ruins of two ancient cities, dating back to...

Traces of a 3,600-year-old settlement have been discovered in Qatar’s desert

8 February 2022

8 February 2022

Researchers looking for underground water sources on the Eastern Arabian Peninsula have accidentally uncovered the outlines of a settlement that...