29 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Maltaş Temple Revealed

Phrygian Valley, 10 meters high monument with Phrygian scriptures inscriptions on it discovered. The unearthed Maltaş monument is actually the facade of a temple with a triangular roof and niches.

Rescue excavation, which started in late June, continues at the Maltaş Monument, which dates back to the 7th century BC, in the historical Phrygian Valley in the İhsaniye district of Afyonkarahisar.

While just a 3-meter-long section of the monument is visible above ground, recent digs revealed 7 meters of the monument, which dates back to 7th century B.C., in recent excavations.

The Maltaş monument, according to Afyonkarahisar Governor Gökmen Çiçek, is one of Phrygia’s best accomplishments. Çiçek described the monument as an “incredible structure,” saying, “Maltaş was built 3,000 years ago and is still standing intact today. Only a certain part of this structure was above ground. When we reached its underground section during our rescue excavation, we came across an enormous artifact,” he said.

A general view from the Maltaş monuments. Photo: AA

The governor said that experts have been working on this area recently, noting that they are still attempting to find out what the newly revealed niche inside the monument is.



📣 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!!




Maltaş (Malkaya) Monument

The monument is situated atop one of the Akkuşyuvası rocks, which form the western boundary of the valley. It’s around 750 meters south of the Aslantaş tomb. Maltaş, like Değirmen Yeri, Bahşayiş, and Deliklitaş, is a shaft monument.

Until just recently the Maltas monument in Turkey looked like this and no one suspected what lay beneath the surface. Photo: Klaus-Peter Simon / CC BY 3.0

The monument is mostly buried under the earth. In the year 1881, W. M. Ramsay discovered the monument nearly totally hidden in the dirt and dug it out only to a certain level with the aid of workmen.

Although the earth in front of the monument was removed during the excavations of Gabriel (1936), Haspels (1950), and Brixhe (1970), it was replaced with soil to preserve the monument from water damage after each interaction with groundwater. Despite this, the researchers claim that the moisture in the soil has worn out the subterranean portions.

On it, there are two inscriptions. The first inscription is on the left frame’s outside border, which surrounds the façade wall. Over the ground level, the upper half of this inscription may still be seen today. The second inscription is inscribed on the upper frame of the niche portion, which is fully underground, from left to right. With a depth of 9 meters, its shaft is the deepest of the Phrygian shaft monuments.

Related Articles

500-year-old Ottoman bath revived after years of restoration

5 April 2024

5 April 2024

The 500-year-old Zeyrek Çinili Hammam, a masterpiece of Mimar Sinan and one of the most important examples of Ottoman Bath...

Hagia Sophia May Collapse: Experts Sound Alarm Over 1,500-Year-Old World Heritage Monument

30 June 2025

30 June 2025

Beneath the grandeur of Hagia Sophia’s golden domes and sacred mosaics lies a ticking time bomb. With over 1,500 years...

Unusual Potter’s Signature or Graffito found during excavation of a Roman tile kiln in England

2 August 2023

2 August 2023

Cotswold Archeology and a team of volunteers have found an unusual potter’s signature or graffito in Minety, a village in...

“Euromos”, The Luckiest Ancient City of Anatolia

18 March 2021

18 March 2021

The city in the region called Caria was known from the 5th century BC as Cyramos (Hyramos). During the reign...

1,500-Year-Old Stained Glass and Mosaics Discovered at Harran Cathedral Excavation in Türkiye

7 February 2025

7 February 2025

Recent excavations at the historic Harran archaeological site, which is included on UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List, have yielded rare...

Crowned figure holding a 13th-century falcon found in Oslo

17 December 2021

17 December 2021

Archaeologist Ann-Ingeborg Floa Grindhaug discovered a three-inch-long figure carved from bone or antler amid the ruins of a fortified royal...

An Erotic Frescoes Decorated ‘Tiny House’ Has Been Discovered in Pompeii

26 October 2024

26 October 2024

During investigations at the construction site of the Insula dei Casti Amanti along Via dell’Abbondanza in the central area of...

Archaeologists Discover a New Pyramid from the Caral Culture, Known as South America’s Oldest Civilization

4 February 2025

4 February 2025

The team from the Caral Archaeological Zone has discovered a new pyramidal structure in the “Sector F” of the Chupacigarro...

A 500-year-old mural linked to an Aztec god was found under layers of paint in Mexican Church

15 October 2022

15 October 2022

A mural of an Aztec rabbit God of alcohol is not something anyone expects to see inside a church, but...

Sorcery in Australian Cloggs Cave may be World’s Oldest Known Culturally Transmitted Ritual

1 July 2024

1 July 2024

Two sticks found in a cave in Australia show signs of processing that perfectly match Aboriginal sorcery and curse-making practices...

Roman camp of 10,000 people discovered in northern Portugal

2 July 2021

2 July 2021

A camp used by 10,000 Roman soldiers sent to conquer northwestern Iberia has been discovered in the Portuguese city of...

“Operation Heritage” uncovers an artifact smuggling ring in Turkey

1 June 2022

1 June 2022

Turkish security forces searched locations in 38 regions on Tuesday in one of the largest operations against artifact smugglers, with...

Ancient rubbish dump under Hatshepsut temple reveals hundreds of artifacts

24 November 2021

24 November 2021

Polish archaeologists uncovered a 3,500-year-old dump while working on the reconstruction of the Hathor Goddess Chapel, which is part of...

Secrets of the Ancient Walls: 1,700-Year-Old Roman Altar Unearthed at Vuçak Castle in Kosovo

19 April 2025

19 April 2025

Excavations at Vuçak Castle in the Kosovo countryside have led to a remarkable discovery: a Roman altar dating back to...

Australia’s 1,400-year-old Mysterious Earth Rings: Evidence of Millennia of Human Effort, Not Natural Formation

21 January 2025

21 January 2025

A chain of mysterious earth rings in the Sunbury hills at the fringe of Melbourne, in Australia have been found...