4 October 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.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



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

Anatolia’s first company was founded 4000 years ago with 15 kilos of gold!

26 May 2024

26 May 2024

A 4,000-year-old tablet found in Kültepe shows that the first company in Anatolia was established by 12 people with 15...

Archaeologists Discover Clay Figurines from Early Iron Age in Ukraine

17 December 2024

17 December 2024

Archaeologists have discovered clay figurines of young bulls from the Early Iron Age near the Metropolitan Chambers in the village...

Farmer was Discovers 2600-year-old Stone Slab of Pharaoh Apries

19 June 2021

19 June 2021

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced that a farmer in Ismailia, Egypt, uncovered a 2,600-year-old stone monument erected by Pharaoh...

An olive workshop dating back to the 6th century was found in the ancient city of Dara

16 February 2022

16 February 2022

An olive workshop dating back to the 6th century was unearthed in the ancient city of Dara, one of the...

7,000-year-old Ritual Complex Found In Jordan Desert

23 February 2022

23 February 2022

The team of French and Jordanian archaeologists has discovered a 7,000-year-old ritualistic complex near what is thought to be the...

Archaeologists in northern Spanish have discovered what they believe to be the oldest Basque language text

15 November 2022

15 November 2022

Archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be the oldest Basque language text, on  Irulegi archaeological site, near the Aranguren...

Unique Gems found in Claterna, known as the ‘Pompeii of the North’

18 November 2023

18 November 2023

Italian archaeologists have unearthed 50 unique jewels during ongoing excavations at Claterna, the ancient Roman site known as the ‘Pompeii...

Syria uncovered a large intact mosaic that dates back to the Roman era

12 October 2022

12 October 2022

Syria uncovered a large intact mosaic that dates back to the Roman era, in the central town of Rastan, describing...

War and Exodus in the Mysterious Kingdom: New Clues to Sanxingdui’s Bronze Age Collapse

30 September 2025

30 September 2025

A bold new theory is reshaping how scholars view one of China’s most enigmatic archaeological sites. According to Professor Sun...

The largest stone coffin grave found so far at the Yoshinogari Ruins -3.2 meters

30 May 2023

30 May 2023

A grave with a stone coffin around 2.3 meters long and dating to the latter part of the Yayoi Period...

3,500-year-old perfectly preserved ancient frozen bear found in Siberian

28 February 2023

28 February 2023

As the permafrost on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island in eastern Siberia melted, a mummified brown bear that lived more than three...

Greek Warrior Relief Found in Bulgaria

2 April 2021

2 April 2021

In Sozopol, on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, a piece of terracotta relief depicting ancient Greek warriors has been discovered....

Stone Age Swiss Army Knife? Experimental Archaeology Reveals Surprising Use of Bone Tools at Estonia Site

22 May 2025

22 May 2025

A groundbreaking new study published in February 2025 has revealed that mysterious bone tools discovered at Estonia’s oldest known human...

3,000-Year-Old Hazelnut Shells Discovered in the Sacred Hittite City of Nerik

30 July 2024

30 July 2024

In the sacred Hittite city of Nerik, located in the northern Vezirköprü district of Samsun province in the Central Black...

Stone reliefs describing the Persian-Greek wars were found in the ancient city of Daskyleion in northwestern Turkey

16 August 2021

16 August 2021

A relief depicting a fifth-century BC battle between the Greeks and Persians was discovered in the ancient city of Dascylium...