21 November 2024 The Future is the Product of the Past

Evidence of the Birth of Archaic Monotheism in Anatolia found at Oluz Höyük, “Havangah prayer at Oluz Höyük”

Oluz Höyük, located 25 kilometres west of Amasya, is an ancient city which has rich findings of religious structuring.

During the excavations that have been going on for 15 years, 10 settlement layers were encountered, each of them had a religious structure.

Prof. Dr. Dönmez In the article he wrote in Arkeotarih magazine, “In this belief system, whose basic practice is the Cult of Fire, there are fire houses (Ateşgede), places of worship, areas where sacred ashes are stored, bothros and sacrificial pits where sacred objects are buried; It shows the existence of “Archaic Monotheism” in which we catch the signs of monotheism, which has been observed to be institutionalized since 500 BC in Oluz Höyük.

Built in 450 BC, the oldest fire house (Ateşgede) of Anatolia consists of a fire pit with a diameter of 1.60 meters placed on the ground and a small cella surrounding it. The remains of smoke residues in the row of stones forming the sacred fire pit and the ash and carbon in and around the pit prove that the burned fire here is defined as “eternal fire”, he said.

Aerial view of Oluz Höyük.
Aerial view of Oluz Höyük. Photo: Courtesy of Prof. Dr. Şevket Dönmez

Dönmez stated that the findings of the Oluz Höyük excavations allowed us to understand that the temple and the place of worship were different structures.

Signs that the Havangah Prayer has been performed

Dönmez gave these information about temples and places of worship.

Fire house (Ateşgede) is a small building where the sacred fire is burned, and it is thought that it was not top covered so that the burning fire could be seen outside. Also, it was important that the top was uncovered so that the voice of the Magus (Mog), who prayed for hours every day next to the sacred fire, could be heard.

Oluz Höyük fire pit
Oluz Höyük Fire Pit. Photo: Courtesy of Prof. Dr. Şevket Dönmez

Except for the south of the place of worship, it is understood that it was covered with a large roof supported by 6 columns. Although the excavation has not been completed yet, a total of 6 stone column bases, 3 of which are spaced in two rows in the north-south direction, were unearthed for the place of worship, whose current size is over 100 m2.

Stone bases are made of sandstone and have an average of 50 cm.

Members of the Zoroastrian religion pray five times a day, as in Islam. These times are called Havangah from sunrise to midday, Rabitvengah from midday to 3:00 PM, Uzeyrengah from 3:00 PM to sunset, Eyuhseritengah from sunset to midnight, and Ushehingah from midnight to sunrise.

The fact that the sacred fire and the sunrise could be watched from the place of worship at Oluz Höyük most likely indicate that the Havangah prayer was performed and, more importantly, the presence of prayer in the early Zoroastrian religion in the 5th century BC.

Cover Photo: ©Prof. Dr. Şevket Dönmez

Related Articles

The first mother-daughter burial from the Roman period found in Austria

3 May 2024

3 May 2024

Modern scientific methods are increasingly uncovering spectacular results from archaeological finds dating back a long time. A grave discovered 20...

An unexpected shipwreck was unearthed at the Tallinn construction site

18 April 2022

18 April 2022

During the construction of the office building on Lootsi Street in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital on the Baltic Sea, a shipwreck...

Researchers sequenced the DNA 1,600-year-old sheep mummy from an ancient Iranian salt mine, Chehrabad

16 July 2021

16 July 2021

A multinational team of geneticists and archaeologists sequenced the DNA from a 1,600-year-old sheep mummy discovered from Chehrabad, a salt...

Amateur divers discover ‘enormously valuable’ hoard of Roman coins

27 September 2021

27 September 2021

Two amateur free divers have found one of the largest collections of Roman coins in Europe off the east coast of Spain. Luis Lens...

Crusade period grave field and a sword discovered in Finland

15 October 2023

15 October 2023

A large cemetery from the time of the Crusades was discovered near a medieval stone church in Salo Perttel, a...

Washi papers discovered inside a 675-year-old Buddhist statue in Japan

3 February 2024

3 February 2024

The carved head of an ancient Buddhist statue hidden in the Myooin temple in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan, has revealed pages...

Restoration of the Duomo of Florence has revealed original polychrome paint

1 December 2022

1 December 2022

During the restoration of the Porta dei Cornacchini and the marble cladding of the northern side of Florence’s Duomo, extensive...

A Big, Round, 4,000-Year-Old Stone Building Discovered on a Cretan Hilltop

12 June 2024

12 June 2024

During excavations for an airport on Greece’s largest island of Crete, a large circular monument dating back 4000 years was...

3000-year-old clay figurine discovered in Germany may be a prehistoric water goddess

14 July 2022

14 July 2022

Archaeologists have discovered a rare clay figurine thought to represent a prehistoric water goddess in the Schweinfurt region of Germany....

Failed Mongol fleet may actually land in Japan after 800 years

18 July 2023

18 July 2023

A  recent shipwreck was found off the coast of Japan this year and identified as part of a Mongol fleet...

Netherlands’s unique treasure finds of medieval gold jewelry and silver coins

12 March 2023

12 March 2023

The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (the National Museum of Antiquities) in the Netherlands has announced that a unique treasure of 1000-year-old...

New Type of Amphora Found in 5th-Century Roman Shipwreck

28 April 2024

28 April 2024

The first in-depth analysis of the cargo of a 4th-century Roman shipwreck found off the coast of Mallorca in 2019...

Japan-Persia Ancient Ties

20 June 2021

20 June 2021

Japanese and Persian ancient ties go back to the 7th century. Silk Road connected Japan with countries and regions far...

After 85 years of adventure, Globetrotting Mycenaean gold ring returns home

3 June 2022

3 June 2022

The 3,000-year-old gold Mycenaean ring, stolen from the Rhodes Archaeological Museum during World War II and later bought by a...

Ancient winery site uncovered in China’s Hebei

5 January 2022

5 January 2022

In northern China’s Hebei region, an ancient winery going back 400 years to the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties...