13 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A 2,000-year-old whistle was found in a child’s grave in the ruins of Assos, Turkey

A terracotta whistle believed to be 2,000 years old from the Roman era and placed as a gift in a child’s grave was discovered during excavations at the 7,000-year-old Assos Ruins in the village of Behramkale, in the Ayvacık district of Çanakkale, in northwest Turkey.

Assos Ancient City’s history dates back to the sixth century B.C. The city faced to the sea and people were climbing down via terraces to the sea. The city was built on an extinct volcanic hill, between andesite rocks and 236m high from the sea. The ruins are listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List.

Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University’s (ÇOMÜ) Archeology Department lecturer professor Nurettin Arslan with a team of 25 people continue excavations in the agora and gymnasium of Byzantine Period Ksenedochion (guesthouse) structures built in the Hellenistic period at the ruins.

A 2,000-year-old whistle made of terracotta from the Roman period was found in a child's grave as a grave gift, in Çanakkale, Turkey. Photo: İHA
A 2,000-year-old whistle made of terracotta from the Roman period was found in a child’s grave as a grave gift, in Çanakkale, Turkey. Photo: İHA

Professor Nurettin Arslan said, “It was understood that the terracotta bird figure found on the surface around the Ayazma Church was a whistle. In ancient times, such objects were used as children’s toys and left as gifts, especially in kids graves. It is known that this object, which still functions as a whistle, was used from the Classical Age to the Roman Age. Since the find layers of this object are not known, it is not possible to give an exact date. “But we guess it’s the Roman period or before,” he said.

In addition, they seem to be causal children’s toys of the time and were placed in children’s graves as a cultural ritual. This particular Roman whistle is estimated to be 2,000 years old.

Assos was one of the most important port cities in the ancient ages and home to many cultural riches such as an ancient theater, agora, necropolis, and ramparts.

Photo: İHA

The city has been home to many societies for centuries, having been founded on the summit and slopes of a volcanic hill at the southern end of the region, called as “Troas” in ancient times, across the island of Lesbos in Greece.

One of its famous residents was Aristotle who together with the philosopher Xenocrates established a philosophical school at Assos.

It was the first ancient city that U.S. archaeologists excavated in the 1800s. It was excavated in 1981 after a long break.

Related Articles

A metal detectorist unearthed a Roman silver “ligula” or “Toilet Spoon” in Wales

30 January 2024

30 January 2024

A metal detectorist in Wales unearthed a Roman silver “ligula”, commonly known as a “toilet spoon”. The discovery, made in...

Largest ever Roman silver hoard in Germany found in Augsburg

12 November 2021

12 November 2021

Archaeologists in Augsburg, Germany, revealed unearthed a historical hoard including 15 kg of silver coins from the Roman Empire’s era....

The 890-million-year-old sponge fossil may be the oldest animal yet discovered

1 August 2021

1 August 2021

890-million-year-old fossil sponges found in the “Little Dal” limestones of northwest Canada may be the oldest animal ever found. According...

“Cardiff’s earliest house” unearthed during an archaeological dig may shed light on the city’s earliest inhabitants

15 July 2022

15 July 2022

Archaeological excavation in a city park in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, has uncovered what is believed to be the...

Unusual Potter’s Signature or Graffito found during excavation of a Roman tile kiln in England

2 August 2023

2 August 2023

Cotswold Archeology and a team of volunteers have found an unusual potter’s signature or graffito in Minety, a village in...

1.5-Million-year-old Footprints have Revealed the Co-Existence of two Ancient Human Species in Kenya

30 November 2024

30 November 2024

Thanks to a set of preserved footprints on the ancient shores of Lake Turkana in Kenya, researchers have uncovered the...

Netherlands’s unique treasure finds of medieval gold jewelry and silver coins

12 March 2023

12 March 2023

The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (the National Museum of Antiquities) in the Netherlands has announced that a unique treasure of 1000-year-old...

A Life-Size Funerary High Relief Discovered in Pompeii’s Porta Sarno Necropolis

3 April 2025

3 April 2025

A research project titled “Investigating the Archaeology of Death in Pompeii,” developed by the Universitat de València in collaboration with...

Thetford Hoard: Evidence of Continued Paganism in East Anglia Until the 5th Century

25 April 2025

25 April 2025

Recent discoveries from a treasure hoard unearthed in Thetford Forest, East Anglia, reveal compelling evidence that the region remained pagan...

Archaeologists reveal largest paleolithic cave art site in Eastern Iberia

17 September 2023

17 September 2023

More than 100 ancient paintings and engravings thought to be at least 24,000 years old were found in the cave...

Researchers reveal the 4,500-year-old network of funerary avenues in Arabian Peninsula

15 January 2022

15 January 2022

Archaeologists from the University of Western Australia (UWA) have determined that people living in ancient northwest Arabia built long-distance “funerary...

2,000 Bronze Statue Fragments Found in Ancient Scrap Yard

20 January 2025

20 January 2025

Archaeologists in Izmir, Turkey have made an extraordinary discovery in the ancient city of Metropolis: Approximately 2,000 bronze statue fragments...

Drought unveils sunken basilica in Turkey

14 October 2022

14 October 2022

The sunken basilica remains discovered in 2014 became visible as a result of Lake Iznik’s water withdrawal. Climate change is...

2000-Year-Old Roman Origins Confirmed for Elche’s Monumental L’Assut de l’Argamassa Dam

17 May 2025

17 May 2025

An archaeological research project has unveiled that the imposing L’Assut de l’Argamassa dam in Elche, Spain, long suspected to be...

Water Cultu in Hittites and Eflatunpınar Hittite Water Monument

4 February 2021

4 February 2021

The Hittites, which left their mark on the Bronze Age period in Anatolia, is a society that draws attention with...