18 July 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

Hunting tools Dating Back 1900 Years Found inside a Cave in Querétaro, Mexico

27 January 2024

27 January 2024

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) found hunting weapons dating back approximately 1,900 years in a...

Isles of Scilly Iron Age warrior buried with a mirror and sword was probably a woman

27 July 2023

27 July 2023

Archaeologists conducted a DNA analysis of the tooth enamel of a person who died more than two millennia ago on...

Roman-era Pottery Workshop discovered in Alexandria

29 April 2022

29 April 2022

The Egyptian archaeological mission discovered a Roman-era pottery workshop at the site of Tibet Mutawah, west of Alexandria. The researchers...

350,000-Year-Old Human Settlement have been Discovered on the Arabian Peninsula

17 May 2021

17 May 2021

One of the world’s oldest Acheulean sites was found in the northern region of Hail in Saudi Arabia. Al Nasim...

Archaeologists say they have found the lost city of Natounia, belonging to the Parthian Empire

20 July 2022

20 July 2022

Researchers suggest they may have identified the lost Parthian city of Natounia in the Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. Although...

Archaeologists Discover 40,000-Year-Old Evidence of Neanderthal Habitation in Ghamari Cave, Iran

13 March 2025

13 March 2025

Iranian archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery in Ghamari Cave (also known as Qamari Cave), located near Khorramabad in Lorestan...

A mysterious lead tablet with an unknown 13th-14th-century script: Might be an old Lithuanian script?

26 February 2024

26 February 2024

In the Museum of the Palace of the Grand Dukes in Vilnius, Lithuania, a mysterious lead tablet dating back to...

Two Infant burials found under prehistoric “Dragon Stone” in Armenia

4 June 2024

4 June 2024

An international team of researchers has unearthed the remains of an adult woman and two infants buried under a basalt...

A bronze seal matrix of St George slaying the dragon has been discovered at the royal Château of Villers-Cotterêts in northern France

21 March 2022

21 March 2022

A previously unpublished and unknown bronze seal matrix of Saint George slaying the dragon has been discovered at the royal...

Key Silla Kingdom Palace Site Found in South Korea After Decade-Long Probe

11 February 2025

11 February 2025

A decade-long investigation conducted by the Korea Heritage Service has uncovered a crucial palace site of the Silla Kingdom (57...

Turkish researchers use Artificial Intelligence to read cuneatic Hittite tablets

9 January 2023

9 January 2023

Thanks to a project implemented in Türkiye, 1,954 ancient Hittite tablets are being read for the first time using artificial...

The two sarcophagi discovered beneath Notre Dame start to reveal their secrets

12 December 2022

12 December 2022

The owner of one of the two sarcophagi that were found in an excavation at the intersection of Notre Dame...

148 Ancient Tombs Spanning 2,100 Years Unearthed in the Construction Area of the Zoo

18 August 2024

18 August 2024

An ancient burial site with 148 tombs,  spanning over 2,100 years, has been discovered on the construction site of the...

In the Black Sea, there is a “Ship Graveyard” with 2,500 years of wrecked ships

15 February 2022

15 February 2022

The Black Sea is the inland sea lying between Europe and Asia. Blacksea is located in Eurasia, surrounded by Europe,...

Unique Rock Tomb Discovered in Southeastern Türkiye’s Şanlıurfa

3 March 2025

3 March 2025

Hasan Şıldak, the governor of the city of Şanlıurfa in south-eastern Türkiye, announced on his social media account that a...