27 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Discovery Shedding Light on the Mysteries of Anatolia: 3500-year-old Double-Headed Eagle Seal

A grain silo and two different seal impressions, one of which is a double-headed eagle, were found during the excavation of Üçhöyük in the Bolvadin district of Afyonkarahisar in western Türkiye, which is being carried out to find the lost Hittite city of Purushanda.

This discovery sheds light on the mysteries of ancient Anatolia and at the same time demonstrates the power, status, and position of the Üçhöyük settlement as a major city in Anatolia in 1600-1700 BC.

Purushanda was an Anatolian kingdom. Purushanda was founded in the late 19th century BC, engaging in substantial trade with Mari. Purushanda was a major seat of power in the region with a “great king” before the Hittites conquered the region between 1650 and 1556 BC.

The studies at Üçhöyük, which are carried out under the scientific supervision of Professor Özdemir Koçak from the Department of History at Selçuk University, have been continuing since 2020 with a large scientific committee.  In addition to 48 academics from Turkish universities, archaeologists Professor Satoshi Urano, Professor Yukinori Fukatsu, and Professor Naoto Koiwa from Rikkyo and Hirosaki universities in Japan are also participating in the excavation.

Double-headed eagle seal. Photo: AA

This year’s excavations, carried out in collaboration with Turkish and Japanese scientists, yielded a grain silo with most of its pithos (storage jar) destroyed and two different seal stamps, one of which is a double-headed eagle.

Prof. Dr. Koçak said that they encountered beautiful finds during the excavations in the area of Üçhöyük called Kuzeytepe.

‘We encountered large jars here. For the first time, we found evidence of agriculture and production. The finds reinforced our belief that this area was a public place. We had finds related to production in previous years. Perhaps we will find other areas related to production. This silo is a large pit dug into the soil. It is about 5-6 metres long and 3-4 metres wide.’

Koçak mentioned that the Üçhöyük excavation site dates back to the Bronze Age, and is one of the largest settlements in Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Koçak stated that the silo, seals and stamp seal impressions found during the excavation prove that Üçhöyük settlement was an administrative centre.

Photo: AA

Pointing out that the seals, cylinder, and stamped ceramic sherds are the special finds of the excavation, Koçak said, ‘These finds show the power, status, and position of Üçhöyük settlement. It shows that it was a big city in Anatolia in the 1600-1700s BC. The stamp seal impression sample we found was used around the pithos or in its closure. This is an interesting example. It has a double-headed eagle motif on it. We also found cylinder seal impressions and other materials.’

Prof. Dr. Koçak stated that researchers are tackling the possibility that this settlement is the same city mentioned in Akkadian documents around 2350 BC, called Purushanda.

“These documents describe how King Sargon of Akkad raided the city of Purushanda at the request of a merchant, how he captured the city, and had depictions of himself and the king of Purushanda drawn on the city walls. Our aim is to prove that the city mentioned in these documents is Üçhöyük. This city was an important marketplace for Anatolia around 2000 BC. We have found seals dating back to 2300 BC in our excavations. All the descriptions and documents we have indicate that this place is Purushanda,” he explained.

Cover Image Credit: AA

Related Articles

Excavations at the ‘Westminster Abbey of Wales’ Yielded a Few Surprises: a lost Aqueduct and a Buried Celtic Treasure

12 March 2024

12 March 2024

Archaeologists working in Wales revealed recently they may have discovered a Celtic monastery at the site of a 12th-century Cistercian...

Medieval Love badge with the written “Love conquers all” discovered in Poland

18 February 2024

18 February 2024

Polish archaeologists have discovered a late medieval badge: a piece of tin shaped into a turtle dover and with the...

Denmark King’s spice cabinet discovered on Gribshunden

13 February 2023

13 February 2023

The Gribshunden, a 15th-century Danish royal warship, was uncovered to have been loaded with botanical materials, including the first archaeological...

1900 years old a Customs Inscription from the Lycian civilization reveals Anatolia’s strategic importance in maritime trade

16 September 2023

16 September 2023

A Customs Inscription from the Lycian civilization, located in Andriake port in the southern province of Antalya’s Demre district, tells...

In French Necropolis 21 Roman “curse tablets” discovered including one written in the extinct Celtic language of Gaulish

18 January 2025

18 January 2025

During the excavation of an eighteenth-century hospital in north-western France by researchers from the Orléans Archaeological Service, a 2,000-year-old necropolis...

Researchers Define the Borders of El Argar, the First State-Society in the Iberian Peninsula

18 March 2025

18 March 2025

Recent research conducted by scholars from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology...

Archaeologists Reveal First Settlement of Cimmerians in Anatolia

23 June 2023

23 June 2023

Continuing excavations in Türkiye’s central Kırıkkale province have revealed new findings indicating that Büklükale village was the first settlement of...

700-Year-Old Church Becomes a Museum

31 January 2021

31 January 2021

It was learned that the 7-century-old church in Akçaabat, Trabzon will serve as a museum from now on. St. The...

In Moravia, archaeologists discover divine thrones, thousands of artifacts and a new settlement

13 August 2021

13 August 2021

During a four-year dig in the Moravian city (Czech Republic) of Perov, rare gems, mysterious burial places, and divine thrones...

A new study reveals more than one person was buried in a tomb where the famous Nestor’s Cup was found

6 October 2021

6 October 2021

The Tomb of Nestor’s Cup, a burial that contained one of the oldest known Greek inscriptions, was more crowded than...

Evidence found of Goose domestication in Neolithic China 7,000 years ago

8 March 2022

8 March 2022

Geese may have been domesticated in what is now China as early as 7,000 years ago, according to a study...

Digs at Turkey’s Seyitömer mound reveals thousands of artworks

20 March 2022

20 March 2022

Approximately 14,500 artifacts have been unearthed during rescue excavations carried out over 33 years at Seyitömer Mound in Turkey’s western...

The oldest meerschaum artifact found in Anatolia; of Çavlum Seal

18 July 2021

18 July 2021

The stamp seal unearthed during the rescue excavations of Çavlum Village on the Eskişehir Alpu Plain is the oldest meerschaum...

Archeologists Discover Two Sphinxes measure 26 feet in length in Egyptian Ruins

21 January 2022

21 January 2022

Archeologists have discovered the remains of two huge sphinx statues, each measuring 26 feet in length, at the funerary temple...

Artifacts used for ancient magic rituals discovered on Darb al-Hajj route from Cairo to Mecca

11 September 2023

11 September 2023

The artifacts, found in the 1990s on the ancient Darb al-Hajj route from Cairo to Mecca, may have been in...