8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists Unearth Roman Archive of Ancient City of Doliche

Archaeologists from the Asia Minor Research Center at the University of Münster have uncovered the municipal archive in the ancient city of Doliche in southeastern Türkiye and recovered more than 2,000 seal impressions used to seal documents.

Doliche was a major city of Roman and Byzantine North Syria, located in Turkey (near Gaziantep, Southeast Anatolia), approximately 50 km north of the Turkish-Syrian Border.

Doliche is a significant religious center associated with three different beliefs: Teşup in the Hittite Imperial Period, Mithraism, and Jupiter Dolikhenos in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The city’s remains reflect its history as an ancient Roman city that was established as a sacred site for Jupiter Dolikhenos.

The team, led by Prof. Dr. Michael Blömer and Prof. Dr. Engelbert Winter from the University of Münster, has made a significant find. While each city had archives for storing contracts, until now, only a few Roman Empire archive buildings had been identified. Well-preserved seal impressions and their motifs also provide insights into ancient administrative practices.

The seal impressions are made of stamped clay pieces ranging in size from approximately five millimeters to two centimeters. They were used to seal papyrus and parchment documents.

View of the excavations in the uncovered former municipal archive of Doliche. Photo: Asia Minor Research Center, Universität Münster
View of the excavations in the uncovered former municipal archive of Doliche. Photo: Asia Minor Research Center, Universität Münster

The images on the city’s official seals have a direct connection to it. They usually depict their most important gods, such as Jupiter Dolichenus, the city’s main deity, explains Michael Blömer.

The gods on the seals offer a glimpse into the religious environment of the people. Mythical figures or rare private portraits indicate a strong Greco-Roman influence, explains the Blömer.

Only the lower layers of the foundations remain of the archive building, which is made of solid limestone blocks, adds Engelbert Winter. “However, they reveal a sequence of rooms that come together to form an elongated building complex,” he describes.

However, the exact size cannot yet be measured. So far, the building has been proven to be eight meters wide and 25 meters long. The width of the walls also shows that it was multi-story.

Two impressions of official stamps of the city of Doliche. Photo: Asia Minor Research Center, Universität Münster
Two impressions of official stamps of the city of Doliche. Photo: Asia Minor Research Center, Universität Münster

The archive’s documents were destroyed in a massive fire. As a result of a war between the Roman Empire and Persia, the Persian Great King Shapur I destroyed numerous cities in the Roman province of Syria, including Doliche, in 253 A.D.

After the fire, the city center, which included a bath complex and a monumental temple, was not rebuilt. This is a boon for archaeology because it means that the state of the era has been preserved until 253 A.D., according to the researchers.

University of Münster

Cover Photo: Seal impressions from the Doliche archive. Photo: Asia Minor Research Center, Universität Münster

Related Articles

More than 1,300 prehistoric burial mounds in western Azerbaijan systematically surveyed for the first time

2 January 2025

2 January 2025

Over 1,300 archaeological sites in Azerbaijan were systematically surveyed and documented in two field campaigns in 2021 and 2023 by...

Megalithic structure found in Kazakhstan was probably a place of worship for miners in the Bronze Age

2 September 2024

2 September 2024

Archaeologists investigating a megalithic monument in the Burabay district of the Akmola region of Kazakhstan have revealed that the monument...

Medieval ‘Testicle Dagger’ Unearthed at Swedish Fortress

19 May 2025

19 May 2025

Archaeologists in Gothenburg, southwestern Sweden, have made a rather striking discovery at the site of the ancient Gullberg Fortress: a...

A New Study: The Great Sphinx of Giza may have been blown into shape by the wind

1 November 2023

1 November 2023

The theory, occasionally raised by others, that the Great Sphinx of Giza may have been a lion-shaped natural landform that...

Palau’s green pyramids: could be a geo-archaeological project

19 February 2022

19 February 2022

Archaeologists from Kiel University’s Institute for Ecosystem Research (CAU) and the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) studied the so-called “Pyramids of...

Unveiling a Roman Settlement Beyond the Empire: New Discoveries in Delbrück-Bentfeld, Germany

6 April 2025

6 April 2025

Recent archaeological excavations in Delbrück-Bentfeld, located in northwestern Germany, have revealed significant evidence of a Roman settlement that existed beyond...

High school student discovered a 1500-year-old ancient Magical Mirror

9 August 2023

9 August 2023

 A High school student discovered an ancient “magical mirror” meant to ward off the evil eye in an archaeological excavation...

New Research Uncovers Earliest Evidence of Humans in Rainforests, Pushing Timeline Back 150,000 Years

3 March 2025

3 March 2025

The rainforests, as important biomes on earth, were considered uninhabited until recent history. New findings now show that humans lived...

A Newly Found 12,000-year-old Burial in Türkiye May Belong to a Female ‘Shaman’

28 July 2024

28 July 2024

A recently published study suggests that a woman buried in the upper reaches of the Tigris River in south-eastern Türkiye...

Forged 5,000 Years Ago: The World’s Oldest Swords Discovered at Arslantepe Mound, Türkiye

10 June 2025

10 June 2025

In the arid plains of Eastern Anatolia, nestled along the western bank of the Euphrates River near Malatya, Turkey, lies...

Queen Kubaba: Some 4,500 years ago, a woman rose to power and reigned over one of the largest civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia

28 December 2023

28 December 2023

Is it possible to say who was the first queen in history? Given the size and diversity of human civilization,...

A massive Rune stone found under a kitchen floor in Denmark declared treasure

8 June 2023

8 June 2023

A couple in Denmark discovered a massive rune stone weighing approximately 900 kilograms during a home renovation project that planned...

Rare medieval bone flute unearthed in Kent, southeastern coast of England

22 November 2022

22 November 2022

Archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology have unearthed a rare medieval bone flute during excavations in Herne Bay, located in Kent, southeastern...

Archaeologists Found Probable Evidence of the Existence of Amazons in Azerbaijan

27 March 2024

27 March 2024

Archaeological research carried out in Azerbaijan recently likely confirmed the existence of Amazons, female warriors from Greek mythology. During excavations...

2,000-Year-Old Dancing Man Statuette Unearthed in Siberia

6 May 2021

6 May 2021

During excavations for a new bridge over the Ob River in Novosibirsk, Russia’s third-largest district, a ten-centimeter-tall figurine was discovered....