23 May 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

The history of Kültepe Mound in central Turkey goes back another 300 years

12 December 2021

12 December 2021

In Kültepe, where the first written documents of Anatolia were unearthed, the date based on 5 thousand years was updated...

Archaeologists unearth 128 ancient urn burial tombs for children in north China

22 November 2021

22 November 2021

Archaeologists have uncovered urn burial chambers containing the remains of 128 infants among the ruins of an ancient city of...

A First in Denmark: Rare 4th Century Roman Helmet and Chainmail Found

3 February 2025

3 February 2025

Archaeologists have recently unearthed a massive stockpile of weapons near Hedensted, Denmark, buried 1,500 years ago by an ancient chief....

The inhabitants of Pınarbaşı Höyük in central Turkey may be the ancestors of the Boncuklu Höyük and Çatalhöyük neolithic human communities

27 July 2022

27 July 2022

The Department of Excavations and Researchs, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Turkey, attracted...

Evidence of Intentional Roman Use of Narcotic Seeds, Found in Bone Vessel in the Netherlands

8 February 2024

8 February 2024

Archaeologists have discovered the first conclusive evidence of the existence of a hallucinogenic and poisonous plant thought to have been...

Archaeologists Found an Egyptian Temple Slotted into a Cliff Face, Probably Dedicated to a Lion-Headed Goddess Repit

15 December 2024

15 December 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered a hidden gateway leading to a 2,100-year-old temple built into a cliff face at the ancient city...

Remarkable Roman mosaic discovered near London Bridge in Southwark

22 February 2022

22 February 2022

A team of archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology have announced the discovery well-preserved Roman mosaic that may have...

Unusual Iron Age Female Grave Found in Pryssgården, Sweden

3 November 2024

3 November 2024

In an Iron Age cemetery in Sweden, archaeologists found a woman’s grave buried with a small needle and an iron...

A 2600-year-old Clay Pot was Repurposed As Trash Bin in An Iranian Museum

13 November 2023

13 November 2023

A clay pot dating back to the 2600-year-old Medes period is now serving as a trash bin in a museum...

1.5 tons of bronze coins found in east China

19 December 2022

19 December 2022

An ancient coin hoard containing 1.5 tonnes of coins from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties has been discovered...

The 2000-year-old origin mystery of the Etruscans solved

25 September 2021

25 September 2021

A genetic analysis of DNA taken from ancient skeletons appears to have answered a conundrum that has captivated researchers for...

Origin of Ivory Rings Found in Elite Anglo-Saxon Burials

2 July 2023

2 July 2023

An elite class of ancient Anglo-Saxon women were buried with hundreds of ivory rings, and the origin of these ivory...

Archaeologists deciphered the Sabaean inscription on a clay jar finds link between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

3 April 2023

3 April 2023

Archaeologists deciphered a partially preserved inscription that was found on the neck of a large jar dated back to the...

Female pharaoh’s temple reveals teamwork of Egypt’s ‘ancient masters’

18 November 2021

18 November 2021

Despite the widely acknowledged monumentality and durability of ancient Egyptian sculpture, carved reliefs, and paintings the makers of these works...

15 new sculptures discovered in Turkey’s sculpture paradise Yesemek

8 December 2021

8 December 2021

Archaeologists discovered 15 new sculptures during recent digs around the Yesemek Open Air Museum and Sculpture Workshop in the Islahiye...