18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A Gold Belt Weighing 432 Grams Unearthed During Excavations in Ani Ruins is on Display

The gold belt discovered 22 years ago during excavations in the ancient city of Ani, often referred to as the “City of 1001 Churches” and “City of Forty Gates”, is on display at the Kars Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum.

Located in Kars, Türkiye, and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Ani is undergoing extensive archaeological excavations. It reveals its buried history through meticulous work at eight different excavation sites.

During the Middle Ages, Ani was a highly significant city that prospered, especially in the tenth and thirteenth centuries. The city, renowned for its architectural wonders, was an important hub for trade, culture, and religion. The city’s distinct legacy was shaped by the blending of multiple civilizations, such as the Seljuks, Georgians, Armenians, and Byzantines.

Photo: AA

The golden belt, which was found in 2002 during the excavations carried out under the direction of Hacettepe University Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Beyhan Karamağaralı between 1989 and 2005, was kept under protection for 22 years.

The belt with various figures on it weighs 432 grams.

Hakim Aslan, Acting Director of the Kars Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum, told Anadolu Agency: “We know that Ani lived its glorious period in the Middle Ages, and archaeological excavations were started by Russian-born Nikolay Marr in Ani Ruins in the late 1800s. Later, the excavations were carried out by Turkish professors and are still continuing. The gold belt is one of the artifacts unearthed as a result of the excavations carried out in 2002 under Prof. Dr. Beyhan Karamağaralı. The artifact is very important, it is made of gold material.”

Photo: AA

The belt is made up of three components: the belt plate, the belt buckle, and the belt loops on the second textile piece. The belt has decorations and is entirely composed of gold material. The belt buckle in the middle is made with 8 slices and savat craftsmanship is seen on the edges. Savat is a very old gold and silver decoration technique that originates in Dagestan. The belt plate measures 25 centimeters in length and 2.5 centimeters in width. There is a human head figure at the end.

Pointing out that the same figures are seen in the wall paintings of the Uighur period, Hakim Aslan said, “In fact, a third eye is seen here, and the word ‘lisa’ is written on the belt buckle as well as the human figure. The word ‘lisa’ means the owner. On the ceramics we have seen before, the word lisa was used in the sense of bringing good luck and prosperity to the owner.”

Photo: AA

The golden belt will be on display at the Kars Archaeology and Ethnography Museum for only 3 months.

Cover Photo: AA

Related Articles

Archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old burial ground and shell tool processing site in Taiwan

1 August 2022

1 August 2022

A 4,000-year-old cemetery and shell tool processing site has been discovered in Kenting National Park, Taiwan’s oldest and southernmost national...

DNA Analysis Reveals Identifies the Genetic Makeup of Piceni the Most Fascinating Civilizations of Pre-Roman Italy

24 November 2024

24 November 2024

A study conducted by an international team coordinated by Sapienza University of Rome and the Italian National Research Council (CNR)...

Unlocking the Secrets of Jersey’s Le Câtillon II: A Celtic Settlement Discovered Near the Enigmatic Hoard

12 March 2025

12 March 2025

Recent archaeological investigations near Jersey, an island in the English Channel situated just off the coast of France, have unveiled...

The Mystery of the Hekatompedon: An Ancient Shepherd’s Graffiti Sheds New Light on the Mystery of the Acropolis’ Lost Temple

13 June 2024

13 June 2024

The Acropolis of Athens and its monuments, the greatest architectural and artistic complex bequeathed to the world by ancient Greece,...

Beautiful’ Water-Nymph Marble Statue Found in Amastris ancient city

8 September 2023

8 September 2023

Excavations in the ancient city of Amastris, located in the Black Sea province of Bartın’s Amasra district, have unearthed a...

Using Google Earth and aircraft reconnaissance, archaeologists identify unknown sites and Serbia’s hidden Bronze Age megastructures

17 November 2023

17 November 2023

Using Google Earth and aircraft reconnaissance, archaeologists at University College Dublin identified more than 100 previously unknown sites. Satellite remote...

Tang-e Chogan bas-relief carvings, Majestic treasures of Sassanid art, are under threat of destruction 

9 March 2022

9 March 2022

Treasures of Sassanid art, some of Tang-e Chogan’s bas-reliefs are under threat of complete destruction due to lack of maintenance...

Vase for holy oil used by ‘hidden Christians’ in Japan

24 May 2023

24 May 2023

After the family that had passed it down through the generations permitted the artifact to be examined, a relic from...

Ancient Ruins of an Ancient Capital Found in Beijing

15 March 2021

15 March 2021

After two years of excavation, Chinese archaeologists recently exposed Zhongdu, the capital city of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) next to...

200,000-year-old ‘mammoth graveyard’ found in the southwest UK

19 December 2021

19 December 2021

Researchers have unearthed a mammoth “graveyard” filled with the bony remains of five individuals, including an infant, two juveniles, and...

1,500-year-old mosaic found near the Caliph’s palace at Khirbat al-Minya on the Sea of Galilee

30 September 2022

30 September 2022

Archaeologists from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz uncovered an ancient mosaic that once lay in the shadow of a caliph palace...

New Discoveries of Sanxingdui Ancient City to be Announced

19 March 2021

19 March 2021

Sanxingdui, which literally means “Stacks of Three Stars”, is a cultural relic of the Kingdom of Shu in ancient China....

5,700-Year-old Ancient “Chewing Gum” Gives Information About People and Bacteria of the Past

4 April 2021

4 April 2021

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have successfully extracted the complete human genome from “chewing gum” thousands of years ago....

10 Ancient Shipwrecks and Finds from Prehistoric to Ottoman Periods Discovered οff Kasos Island in Greece

14 March 2024

14 March 2024

The research team of the National Hellenic Research Foundation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, has identified ten shipwrecks...

Tombs rich in artifacts discovered by Swedish archaeologists in Cyprus

7 July 2023

7 July 2023

A Swedish archaeological expedition made the extraordinary discovery of tombs outside the Bronze Age trading metropolis of Hala Sultan Tekke...