6 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

3500-year-old ceramic oven discovered in Turkey’s Tepecik Mound

A 3,500-year-old ceramic oven was unearthed in Tepecik Mound in the Çine district of Aydın, in western Turkey.

Tepecik Höyük, which is 36 km away from Aydın, is a settlement where trade is intense, apart from being on a road that has strategic importance in every age due to its location.

Since 2004, professor Sevinç Günel of Hacettepe University’s archaeology department has presided over excavations at Tepecik Mound in the Çine Plain.

Three towers, a chamber containing goods used by the kings of the time for official visits, and obsidian used in tool manufacture were discovered as part of the 17-year excavations at the archaeological site, which was formerly recognized as a trading center. In the mound, archaeologists recently discovered an oven with ceramic tiles.

Günel, the excavation leader, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the region had settlements back-to-back for 7,500 years. Noting that they discovered evidence of life from every time in the mound, Günel noted that this demonstrated that the site was a significant economic hub in its geography.

An archaeologist work in the area of the oven in Tepecik Mound, Aydın, western Turkey. (AA Photo)
An archaeologist work in the area of the oven in Tepecik Mound, Aydın, western Turkey. (AA Photo)

“The area where we have been recently working has architectural remains and finds from 3,500 years ago. We think it is a ceramic oven. It has ceramic pieces on its tiling and a hard-filled mud-brick floor. There are also ceramic pots around it. We have samples of these pots that prove mass production was conducted here. We will have clearer information as our work will spread in the area more in the upcoming days.”

Stating that they also found a warehouse 20 meters (65 feet) away from the area of the oven, Günel said, “We found broken pieces of jars and vessels containing products in this warehouse. However, it was heavily damaged. The reason for such damage was a flood that occurred at that time. Recently we have been cleaning the broken pots in the area.”

Related Articles

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...

From Bronze Age to Buddhism: Xinjiang’s Archaeological Journey Through Time and Recent Discoveries

4 March 2025

4 March 2025

Recent archaeological investigations in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have significantly enhanced our understanding of the area’s historical context and...

Getting to Know Matar Kubilea

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

Hittite state’s, With its collapse in 1200-1190 BC, Anatolia entered a period of drift from holistic to dispersal. (The Hittite...

Giant Prehistoric Rock Engravings Discovered in South America May Be The World’s Largest

5 June 2024

5 June 2024

Researchers made a groundbreaking discovery of what is thought to be the world’s largest prehistoric rock art. Enormous engraved rock...

In French Necropolis 21 Roman “curse tablets” discovered including one written in the extinct Celtic language of Gaulish

18 January 2025

18 January 2025

During the excavation of an eighteenth-century hospital in north-western France by researchers from the Orléans Archaeological Service, a 2,000-year-old necropolis...

The colored skeletons of Çatalhöyük provide insight into the burial rituals of a fascinating society that lived 9000 years ago

18 March 2022

18 March 2022

New research provides new insights into how the inhabitants of the “oldest city in the world” in Çatalhöyük (Turkey) buried...

7,000-year-old Ritual Complex Found In Jordan Desert

23 February 2022

23 February 2022

The team of French and Jordanian archaeologists has discovered a 7,000-year-old ritualistic complex near what is thought to be the...

Largest Headhunting Massacre of Women and Children in Neolithic China

12 November 2023

12 November 2023

A new study discovers that ancient headless skeletons discovered in mass graves in China are the remains of victims who...

Archaeologists unearthed the ruins of an imposing stoa from the Greco-Roman era in Sicily

1 April 2024

1 April 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed the ruins of an imposing stoa from the Greco-Roman period in the small village of Tripi in...

Dog Kajtuś uncovers Poland’s biggest treasure of the past 100 years

21 April 2022

21 April 2022

A dog named Kajtuś discovered the biggest treasure found in Poland in the last 100 years. The treasure was found...

Archaeologists uncover ancient mosaic of the living room of brutal Publius Vedius Pollio

13 December 2022

13 December 2022

In the Pausilypon Archaeological Park, archaeologists from the University of Naples’ “L’Orientale” uncovered an ancient mosaic. The park is located...

City swallowed by sea now center of boat tours

10 September 2023

10 September 2023

The Kekova region, or Sunken City, which has remained under the sea after two major earthquakes in the sixth century...

Rare African Script Offers Clues to the Evolution of Writing Systems

4 February 2022

4 February 2022

The world’s very first invention of writing took place over 5000 years ago in the Middle East, before it was...

Turkey’s Taş Tepeler marks the beginning of civilization

14 October 2021

14 October 2021

There is still plenty to learn about the Neolithic Age!  The vast land of Taş Tepeler, which houses other sites...

One More Missing Links of Evolution Found

29 April 2021

29 April 2021

There is a phenomenon of missing links in the theory of evolution. Theorists of evolution continue to find these missing...