10 February 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

An Amazing Discovery in the 1900-year-old Rock Church, – Sand Dollar Fossil

Located in the eastern province of Diyarbakır’s Eğil district, the rock church, the walls of which are decorated with different cross motifs, brought to tourism. The interesting discovery uncovered during the excavations in the church, which is planned to be opened to visitors soon, attracted attention. A fossil of a creature living on the shores of the Pacific Ocean has been found ” Sand Dollar”.

The Eğil district has become a hub for cultural and religious tourism, captivating visitors with attractions such as the Assyrian Castle, where the prophets Zülkifl and Elyesa, whose names are mentioned in the Quran, were buried, the Kralkızı Dam Lake, ancient wall cisterns, and various other historical structures.

With the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, excavations started 2 years ago in the historical castle under the chairmanship of Professor Vecihi Özkaya, a faculty member of the Department of Archaeology at Dicle University (DÜ), continue.

After 2 of the 4 ancient tunnels in the castle were restored and brought to tourism, 80 percent of the works carried out in the rock church were completed.

Photo: AA

The goal is to bring the church, which has many different cross motifs on its walls and is believed to have been 1,600 years old, to tourism.

Eğil is of great importance not only for Islamic history but also for Jewish and Christian history.

The Rock church, which is a part of the Mor Yuhanna (John) Monastery, which continued its activities as an educational institution in the district for a long time, has survived to this day.  The monastery is named after Yuhanna, also known as John of Ephesus, but is a local of Eğil, who imparted education in the monastery for a while.

Photo: AA

Amazing discovery

Prof. Dr. Vecihi Özkaya said that during the excavations they came across coins belonging to European states and the Ottoman Empire and sacred relics that were valued by Christians.

“Here, we found a find that has no known examples. We found the fossil of a creature that lived on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. This fossil is called ‘Sand Dollar’. This fossil is called the ‘Sand Dollar’. In the Christian world, this fossil is considered as an object related to the belief in Jesus Christ. Its wings of 5 stars symbolize the birth, death and ascension of Jesus Christ. Therefore, it has a remarkable feature as a church where holy relics important to Christians are kept,” he said.

Photo is representative.

The story of the sand dollar according to Catholics is that they represent the story of Christ. The urchin represents the Birth, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Jesus.

There are five holes in a sand dollar – four around the ends of the star and one in the center. According to the religious legend, the four holes represent the four wounds of Christ when his hands and feet were nailed to the cross. The center hole represents the wound made from a soldier’s spear.

While the road to the church was arranged so that local and foreign guests could easily reach it, a staircase was also built. Photo: AA

Özkaya, who informed that the church was generally formed as a result of combining 2 separate rock tombs, said that it is also important in terms of reflecting different periods in masonry and that there are crosses on the wall symbolizing the Christian minorities who lived in the region before and continue to live in the region.

Documentation, area organization, and cleaning work were carried out in the church. While the road to the church was arranged so that local and foreign guests could easily reach it, a staircase was also built. It was informed that the church will be opened to visitors soon.

Related Articles

Dark secrets of Korea’s famous Wolseong palace complex are unearthed

8 September 2021

8 September 2021

The remains of an adult woman were discovered at the base of the Wolseong palace in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang province,...

Analysis of Butchered Bones, Somerset Pit Reveals Bronze Age Cannibalism

17 December 2024

17 December 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered the bloodiest massacre in early Bronze Age Britain and evidence of Bronze Age cannibalism. It is the...

Electoral inscriptions just discovered in Pompeii reveal clientelism in ancient Rome

29 September 2023

29 September 2023

Several electoral inscriptions, the ancient equivalent of today’s electoral posters and pamphlets, have appeared on the walls of the room...

Unique Gold Artefacts of Thracian Horseman Found in Bulgaria

23 August 2024

23 August 2024

The Topolovgrad Municipality posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday that during excavations at the site of a Thracian warrior’s...

Roman-era Mixers and Millstones Made with Geology in Mind

22 September 2021

22 September 2021

A study on stone tools from an outpost of the Roman Empire has found that for ancient bakers and millers,...

Funerary urn depicting Maya corn god uncovered during Maya Train work

10 January 2024

10 January 2024

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) conducting salvage work along section 7 of the Maya Train...

Archaeologists in Iraq find 2,700-year-old wine press

24 October 2021

24 October 2021

Stone bas-reliefs carved into the walls of an irrigation canal some nine kilometers (5.5 miles) long, and the remains of...

Hundreds Of Mummified Bees inside their Cocoons from the Time of the Pharaohs found in Portugal

25 August 2023

25 August 2023

Hundreds of mummified bees inside their cocoons have been found on the southwest coast of Portugal, in a new paleontological...

The first settlement of the Cimmerians in Anatolia may be Büklükale

7 June 2022

7 June 2022

Archaeologists estimated that the first settlement in Anatolia of the Cimmerians, who left Southern Ukraine before Christ (about 8th century...

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 Big, Round, 4,000-Year-Old Stone Building Discovered on a Cretan Hilltop

12 June 2024

12 June 2024

During excavations for an airport on Greece’s largest island of Crete, a large circular monument dating back 4000 years was...

The Longest Greek Papyrus from the Judean Desert Sheds Light on a Pivotal Roman Court Case

31 January 2025

31 January 2025

New research by a group of Austrian and Israeli scholars has finally deciphered a 1,900-year-old scroll describing a tense court...

2,800-Year-Old ‘Pharmaceutical production area’ discovered in ancient Thracian City

19 January 2024

19 January 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed a “pharmaceutical production area” supported by a water source during ongoing excavations in the Thracian Ancient City...

A 130,000-year-old Stingray Sand Sculpture on South Africa’s Coast May Be the World’s Oldest Animal Art

4 April 2024

4 April 2024

Analyzing this object, which at first glance looks like a symmetrical rock, the research team speculated that it could be...

Two mysterious stone balls were found buried in a tomb dating to 3500 BC in Orkney

2 September 2021

2 September 2021

In Orkney, archaeologists discovered two carved stone balls in a tomb dating from 3500 BC. Archaeologists are on-site at Tresness,...