10 July 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

Archaeologists unearth the long-lost homestead of King Pompey in Lynn

3 July 2024

3 July 2024

Archaeologists from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and a historian from Northeastern University believe they might have found the...

‘Australia’s silk road’: the quarries of Mithaka Country dating back 2100 years

4 April 2022

4 April 2022

In Queensland’s remote Channel Country of red dirt and gibber rock, traditional owners and archaeologists have unearthed what researchers have...

World’s Smallest Stegosaurus Track Found

14 March 2021

14 March 2021

The smallest trace of stegosaurus in the world that lived 155 million years ago was found. Stegosaurus, a herbivorous dinosaur,...

Bronze Age Ceremonial Sword Found in Håre in Vestfyn will be on Display Soon

13 March 2021

13 March 2021

Archaeologists excavating the village of Håre on the island of Funen in Denmark have discovered an ornate Bronze Age sword...

Researchers believe mass immigration to Orkney during the Bronze Age was mostly led by women

8 February 2022

8 February 2022

Researchers believe mass immigration to Orkney during the Bronze Age was mostly led by women.  Mass migration to Orkney during...

Archaeologists Discover Northernmost Hellenistic Elite Residence Featuring Ionic Architecture and Graffito in North Macedonia

2 July 2025

2 July 2025

In a groundbreaking archaeological campaign, the NL Museum of Kumanovo has unearthed a remarkable Hellenistic-era residence near the village of...

New study reveals unique characteristics and complex origins of late Bronze Age swords discovered in the Balearic Islands

25 November 2024

25 November 2024

A recent study uncovered a wealth of new information regarding the production, material makeup, and cultural significance of Late Bronze...

The ashes of 8,000 victims were found in two mass graves near the Soldau concentration camp in Poland

14 July 2022

14 July 2022

Polish authorities said they had unearthed two mass graves near the former Nazi concentration camp Soldau containing the ashes of...

Archaeologists have discovered 85 ancient tombs, a watchtower, and a temple site in Egypt’s Gabal al-Haridi region

5 May 2022

5 May 2022

The Egyptian archaeological mission discovered 85 tombs, a watchtower, and a temple site in the Gabal al-Haridi area of Sohag,...

A Special structure Contemporary to Göbeklitepe found at Gre Fılla Höyük in Eastern Turkey

4 August 2022

4 August 2022

Pit-bottomed structures dating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period were found at Gre Fılla Höyük (Gre Fılla Mound) in the province...

The 4,500-year-old Wisconsin canoe was built around the same time that Stonehenge was being constructed

31 May 2024

31 May 2024

Historians from Wisconsin have reported the amazing finding of at least eleven prehistoric canoes in Lake Mendota, which is close...

A Large Roman Building Discovered on the Limmat

13 April 2024

13 April 2024

In the Steinacher area (Canton of Aargau) on the Limmat there was a Roman settlement that was significantly larger than...

A new study says genes and languages aren’t always together

22 November 2022

22 November 2022

Over 7,000 languages are spoken around the world. This linguistic diversity, like biological traits, is passed down from generation to...

Tombs of elite Wari craftsmen found in the royal necropolis in Castillo de Huarmey, Peru

12 September 2022

12 September 2022

A group of tombs of elite craftsmen of the Wari culture has been discovered at the archaeological site of Castillo...

Complex Of Early Neolithic Monuments Discovered In Herefordshire, England

22 July 2023

22 July 2023

Archaeologists discovered a remarkable complex of early Neolithic monuments while investigating the area around Dorstone Hill in Herefordshire, England. The...