8 August 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.


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

Archaeologists Find the Missing Link of the Alphabet

15 April 2021

15 April 2021

Researchers believe that Tel Lachish pottery is the oldest of its kind found in the region, and could explain how...

Metal Detectorist Finds on 4,000-year-old Dagger in Poland Forests

24 February 2024

24 February 2024

A copper dagger more than 4,000 years old was found in a forest near the town of Jarosław on the...

8000 years old fingerprint and ceramic production workshop found in İzmir Ulucak Mound

22 August 2022

22 August 2022

It was understood that the structure unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the 8850-year-old Ulucak Mound (Ulucak Höyük), the oldest...

The colored skeletons of Çatalhöyük provide insight into the burial rituals of a fascinating society that lived 9000 years ago

18 March 2022

18 March 2022

New research provides new insights into how the inhabitants of the “oldest city in the world” in Çatalhöyük (Turkey) buried...

In Switzerland, a Roman amphitheater was discovered during the construction of boathouse

21 January 2022

21 January 2022

Archaeologists from Aargau Cantonal Archaeology have announced the discovery of a Roman amphitheater in Kaiseraugst, located in the canton of...

Britain’s oldest decoratively piece of carved wood discovered in a layer of peat

8 June 2023

8 June 2023

A heavily notched oak timber found in a peat layer during construction work turned out to be the oldest piece...

Water Cultu in Hittites and Eflatunpınar Hittite Water Monument

4 February 2021

4 February 2021

The Hittites, which left their mark on the Bronze Age period in Anatolia, is a society that draws attention with...

Archaeologists in Iraq find 2,700-year-old wine press

24 October 2021

24 October 2021

Stone bas-reliefs carved into the walls of an irrigation canal some nine kilometers (5.5 miles) long, and the remains of...

Near Prague, a Mysterious 7,000-Year-Old Circular Structure

15 September 2022

15 September 2022

Archaeologists are investigating a 7,000-year-old so-called roundel (known as ‘rondely’ in Czech), and monumental structure located in the Vinoř district...

Underwater Researchers Found Temples to Ancient Gods in Sunken City

20 September 2023

20 September 2023

Two temples belonging to the Egyptian god Amun and the Greek goddess Aphrodite were found in the sunken city off...

Archaeologists Reconstruct the Face of a 7th-Century Anglo-Saxon Woman Buried with “Trumpington Cross”

21 June 2023

21 June 2023

In a remarkable archaeological discovery near Cambridge, England, the face of a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon woman buried with a rare gold...

New Study shows Early Native Americans in Alaska were freshwater fishermen 13,000 years ago

15 June 2023

15 June 2023

A team led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers has discovered the earliest known evidence that Native Americans living...

History of 8,500 years waits for a museum

19 June 2023

19 June 2023

The conservation process of the Yenikapı shipwrecks, which were discovered during the Marmaray project and considered the largest collection of...

Neolithic village discovered in northeastern France after 150 years of research

29 August 2023

29 August 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered traces of a permanent settlement in the vast Neolithic site of the Marais de Saint-Gond in northeastern...

Burial site for Enigmatic Anglo-Saxon King Cerdic found, author claims

3 May 2024

3 May 2024

The possible final resting place of Cerdic, the enigmatic founder of the Kingdom of Wessex and a key figure in...