14 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Bone workshop and oil lamp shop unearthed in Aizanoi ancient city in western Turkey

Archaeologists have unearthed a bone workshop and an oil lamp shop in an Aizanoi ancient city in the Çavdarhisar district of Kütahya in western Turkey.

The Kütahya Museum Directorate is conducting excavations in Aizanoi, often known as the “Second Ephesus” and home to Anatolia’s best-preserved Zeus Temple.

Excavation coordinator Kütahya Dumlupınar University (DPU) Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Head of Archeology Department Prof. Dr. Gökhan Coşkun told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they are working in areas that have never been excavated before.

Professor Gökhan Coşkun stated that they worked in two distinct wings of the agora (a public open space used for assembly and marketplaces in ancient Greece) and uncovered significant discoveries that would shed light on the ancient city’s economic and social life.

Underlining that they were able to identify two of the uncovered shops, he said thousands of bone fragments were found inside one of the stores. Some were unprocessed and it seems they were used as raw materials, he added.



📣 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!!



The excavations at the Aizanoi site, known as the "Second Ephesus" and home to the best-preserved Zeus Temple in Anatolia. (AA Photo)
The excavations at the Aizanoi site, known as the “Second Ephesus” and home to the best-preserved Zeus Temple in Anatolia. (AA Photo)

“As far as we understand from this, there was a local bone workshop in Aizanoi during the Roman period and located in the agora. It served as both a workshop and a sales place. Among the processed bone artifacts were mostly women’s hairpins and spoons,” Coşkun said.

“During the excavation of the other shop, we encountered many intact and broken oil lamps, which are the lighting tools of the ancient period.  Findings from both shops show local production in Aizanoi. It is an important finding for us that we determined that important production activities were carried out in Aizanoi during the Roman period.”

Prof. Dr. Gökhan Coşkun added that they aim to bring the unearthed areas to tourism.

This city is located in the municipality of Çavdarhisar, 57 kilometers from the city center of Kütahya. The city experienced its golden age in the second and third centuries AD and became the center of episcopacy in the Byzantine era.

 The city features a temple dedicated to Zeus that is the best preserved in Anatolia. There is also a large theatre and a stadium adjacent to the theatre. There are two Turkish-style baths, one of which is mosaic-decorated, as well as a gymnasium, five bridges on Kocaçay that are being used today, an old dam, a trade house, and avenues with columns on both sides, necropolis regions, and Metre Steune sacred cave.

Related Articles

Sicily: Archaeologists make striking discovery in Segesta

8 June 2021

8 June 2021

Archaeological excavations in the Segesta Archaeological Park, investigating a “monumental edifice” near the portico at the end of the old...

Rare Elizabethan ship discovered at a quarry

2 January 2023

2 January 2023

An Elizabethan ship in “remarkable condition” has been discovered on the lake bed of a Kent quarry, one of only...

200 Feet to the Past: The Millennium-Old Mystery of the Himalayan Towers

8 May 2025

8 May 2025

In the remote and rugged landscapes of the Himalayas, a series of enigmatic structures known as the Himalayan Towers, or...

An 8500-year-old wooden ladder remain was discovered at Çatalhöyük

12 April 2022

12 April 2022

Remains of the wooden ladder were discovered for the first time in Çatalhöyük, one of the best-preserved Neolithic settlements in...

The remains of a very uncommon’ dinosaur species have been discovered in Brazil

20 November 2021

20 November 2021

Researchers have uncovered the remains of a toothless, two-legged dinosaur species that lived 70 million years ago in Brazil, calling...

Climate has influenced the growth of our bodies and our brain

8 July 2021

8 July 2021

Over 300 fossils from the genus Homo have been measured for body and brain size by an interdisciplinary team of...

Hiker found a place of holy worship at an altitude of 2,590 meters in the Swiss Alps

15 March 2023

15 March 2023

A trekking enthusiast stumbled upon an ancient Roman coin buried in rubble in a remote area high in the Alps...

An Ancient Building and Gold Artifacts Found in the Ancient Greek City of Rypes in Achaea

10 December 2024

10 December 2024

Recent excavations on the Trapezá plateau, eight kilometers southwest of the city of Aigio in the Peloponnese, have uncovered an...

AI Uncovers Lost Babylonian Hymn After 3,000 Years — A Glorious Ode to the Ancient City

3 July 2025

3 July 2025

Archaeologists and AI experts uncover a 3,000-year-old hymn praising Babylon‘s grandeur, revealing rare insights into ancient urban society, education, and...

Archaeologists Discovered a Mysterious Ancient Bone Floor in Alkmaar, the Netherlands

16 December 2024

16 December 2024

Archaeologists found a part of a floor made of animal bones in Alkmaar, North Holland, the Netherlands. Experts are intrigued...

Over 70 Archaeological Sites Identified in Canada’s Chilcotin Region, Uncovering Secwépemc Pit Houses Over 4,000 Years Old

29 March 2025

29 March 2025

Recent archaeological findings indicate that the Secwépemc people’s historical presence in the Chilcotin region of British Columbia, Canada, is more...

Rare Hittite bracelet, 3300 years old, found by a farmer

28 March 2022

28 March 2022

A farmer in Turkey’s Çorum province discovered a rare 3,300-year-old ancient bracelet from the Hittite era while plowing his farm....

A Scandinavian Roman gladiator in York: Research Reveals Unknown Migrations Before the Viking Age

7 January 2025

7 January 2025

Scandinavian genes were present on the British Isles several centuries earlier than previously thought, including evidence from a man buried...

Unexpected Results Of Ancient DNA Study: Analysis sheds light on the early peopling of South America

3 November 2022

3 November 2022

Around 60,000 years ago, modern humans left Africa and quickly spread across six continents. Researchers can trace this epic migration...

Skeleton Of “Spanish Monk” in Palace of Cortés Turns Out To Be An Aztec Woman

26 January 2024

26 January 2024

Recent research at the Palace of Cortés in Cuernavaca, Mexico, has revealed a grave historical error. For 50 years, it...