25 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

2,700-year-old Unique Rock Tombs Disappear

The 2,700-year-old rock tombs, unique in Turkey, in the Taşköprü district of Kastamonu are in danger of extinction due to neglect.

Donalar, also called Kalekapı in common parlance, is located 10 km away from Pompeipolis, near the Karadere River which is an arbitrary of Amnias (Gökırmak).

The famous Pompeiopolis Ancient City, the capital of Paphlogania, is located in Taşköprü.

In Kastamonu, the “adventure route” is determined by the works carried out in partnership with Kastamonu University and Taşköprü Municipality under the leadership of the Taşköprü Local Action Group Association. In this context, the team, carrying out route determination studies in Taşköprü district, examined the rock tomb in the village of Donalar, which is unique in Turkey due to its animal figures belonging to many civilizations.

Photo: İHA

Studies made inside the rock tomb reveal that the tombs were exploded with concrete breakers and there are cracks and water leakage in the ceiling due to neglect.

The team also detected metallic tools hammered on a tomb which features two lion figures. Determining that the integrity of one of the lions’ body was intact, but the other one was destroyed, the team also encountered areas that had been plundered by treasure hunters and illegally excavated.

The team stated that the Donalar Rock Tomb region, which is the only one in Türkiye, was declared a protected area but could not be adequately protected, and that as a result of neglect, the historical region and the animal figures on the tomb began to disappear.

Photo: İHA

Lütfi Gültekin, deputy director of culture and social affairs of Taşköprü municipality, said that the Donalar Rock Tomb is the only one in Anatolia due to its history and the animal figures.

Donalar Rock Tomb’s façade cut from the rock is 10 meters above the ground. The central part of the façade is a small tomb chamber that can be entered through low doors on different phases of use.

Donalar the columns are crowned by a narrow but bulging echinoid element and square abacus. Above, the column capital and tomb are carved as crouching bulls.

Related Articles

Archaeologists Uncovered a Terracotta Commander and Warriors at the Mausoleum of China’s First Emperor

12 January 2025

12 January 2025

Archaeologists have unearthed a rare 2,000-year-old statue depicting a high-ranking military commander at the famous Terracotta Army site in China:...

Samen Underground City Getting Prepared for Public Visits

6 June 2021

6 June 2021

Samen Underground City is a unique structure in Iran and the extent of such a structure has not been observed...

Time Team Cracks Sutton Hoo Mystery: ‘Master Count’ Bucket Was a Burial Urn

20 May 2025

20 May 2025

In a remarkable breakthrough at the historic Sutton Hoo site in Suffolk, England, archaeologists have revealed that a 6th-century Byzantine...

Oldest Recorded Gynecological Treatment

7 February 2021

7 February 2021

In their latest research, scientists have come across a treatment practice in a mummy from 4000 years ago, as written...

Archaeologists Unearth 78,000-Year Oldest Human Burial

5 May 2021

5 May 2021

A 78,000-year-old group of bones discovered at the mouth of a Kenyan coastal cave constitutes the oldest recorded formal human...

The World’s Oldest Mummies “Chile’s Ancient Mummies Older than Egypt’s”

20 February 2024

20 February 2024

At the beginning of the 20th century, mummies dating back 2000 years before the Egyptians were found in the Atacama...

Extraordinary Discovery of a Unique Painted Tomb in Tarquinia’s Etruscan Necropolis

1 February 2025

1 February 2025

Exceptional discovery in the necropolis of Tarquinia, located near the western coast in central Italy, north of Rome (a UNESCO...

New research reveals that Baltic amber was transported to the most westerly region of the continent more than 5,000 years ago

21 October 2023

21 October 2023

A team of scientists has identified the oldest pieces of Baltic amber ever found on the Iberian Peninsula, revealing that...

500-year-old board game discovered carved into a stone slab in a Polish castle

12 September 2023

12 September 2023

A board game carved into stone was discovered by archaeologists investigating the castle at Ćmielów in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in...

Angkor Wat Reopens

26 April 2021

26 April 2021

After being temporarily closed on April 7 to prevent the spread of Covid-19 to locals, Apsara National Authority and Angkor...

3000-year-old clay figurine discovered in Germany may be a prehistoric water goddess

14 July 2022

14 July 2022

Archaeologists have discovered a rare clay figurine thought to represent a prehistoric water goddess in the Schweinfurt region of Germany....

Who really fought in the Battle of Himera? Researchers found the answer to the question

14 May 2021

14 May 2021

According to the Ancient Greek Historians, victory over the Carthaginians in the Battle of Himera was won by the alliance...

Egypt unearths ancient quarters of mining leader in the Sinai Peninsula during the Middle Kingdom

19 January 2022

19 January 2022

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced recently that an Egyptian archaeological mission working in Wadi Al-Nasab in South...

A unique find in the Middle Don: Scythian gods on a silver plate

19 November 2021

19 November 2021

Archaeologists of the Archaeological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, during their excavations at the Devitsa V cemetery in...

A new study reveals more than one person was buried in a tomb where the famous Nestor’s Cup was found

6 October 2021

6 October 2021

The Tomb of Nestor’s Cup, a burial that contained one of the oldest known Greek inscriptions, was more crowded than...