13 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Medieval gold ‘lynx’ earrings from Ani Ruins

A pair of lynx-shaped gold earrings have been unearthed near the ruins of Ani, the once great metropolis known as the “city of a thousand and one churches”, on Turkey’s eastern border, across the Akhuryan River from Armenia.

The Medieval earrings, which weigh 22 grams and have engraved star, droplet, and crescent motifs, are now preserved in the Kars Archaeology and Ethnography Museum.

The priceless artifacts, which astounded archaeologists with their exquisite engravings, are scheduled to be displayed briefly at the Kars Archaeology and Ethnography Museum in 2023 after having been carefully stored in a warehouse up until then.

Yavuz Çetin, director of Kars Archaeology and Ethnography Museum, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that Kars has hosted many civilizations throughout history as it is located on the border of countries and is on the historical Silk Road’s route.

A pair of lynx-shaped gold earrings discovered near the Ani Ruins, in Kars, Türkiye. Photo: AA
A pair of lynx-shaped gold earrings was discovered near the Ani Ruins, in Kars, Türkiye. Photo: AA

Stating that it is possible to see the cultural assets of many civilizations in Kars, Çetin said that there are many historical immovable pieces of cultural heritage such as the Köşevenk and Mağazberk archaeological sites in and around the Ani Ruins.

Çetin noted that people have benefited from animals throughout history and attributed physical or characteristic meanings to them.

“The lynx from the feline family is one of these animals. People were influenced by the ferocity and power of this animal and used it in artistic elements,” he said. “The existence of the lynx is also known in our Kars region. A couple of lynx-shaped earrings in our museum were found in the village of Subatan, about 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) north of Ani, and brought to us in 1994.”

Çetin said that they would exhibit the earrings next year.

A pair of lynx-shaped gold earrings discovered near the Ani Ruins, in Kars, Türkiye. Photo: AA
A pair of lynx-shaped gold earrings was discovered near the Ani Ruins, in Kars, Türkiye. Photo: AA

“Our earrings are kept in the warehouse. We plan to temporarily display them to our public in 2023. I invite everyone to see this magnificent work. Our earrings are lynx-shaped, highly decorated earrings … The motifs on them show the artistic elegance of the earrings.”

Ani, which was founded more than 1,600 years ago, was located on several trade routes and grew to become a walled city with over 100,000 residents by the 11th century. Ani was in steep decline by the 1300s, and it was completely abandoned by the 1700s.

Cover Photo: A pair of lynx-shaped gold earrings discovered near the Ani Ruins, in Kars, Türkiye. Photo: AA

Related Articles

New Discoveries at Ancient Greek City of Paestum’s ‘Little Doric Temple’ in Italy

16 April 2023

16 April 2023

Archaeologists have made a series of extraordinary discoveries that may fundamentally alter the understanding of the past of the ancient...

Ancient ‘Church’ in Spain May Actually Be a Roman-Era Synagogue, Archaeologists Say

2 August 2025

2 August 2025

Archaeologists have found menorah artifacts and Hebrew inscriptions that may prove a 4th-century church was actually a Roman-era synagogue. Archaeologists...

Archaeologists find a 3,000-year-old bronze sword in Germany

15 June 2023

15 June 2023

Archaeologists discovered a bronze sword more than 3,000 years old during excavations in the town of Nördlingen in Bavaria, Germany....

Archaeologists discovered an enigmatic complex of rooms, interiors of which covered with figural scenes unique to Christian art

7 April 2023

7 April 2023

Archaeologists of the Polish Center of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw discovered an enigmatic complex of rooms made...

2,700-year-old Unique Rock Tombs Disappear

18 July 2023

18 July 2023

The 2,700-year-old rock tombs, unique in Turkey, in the Taşköprü district of Kastamonu are in danger of extinction due to...

Ancient DNA From Turkish Cave Reveals 5,000-Year-Old Charcoal Therapy and Hidden Antibiotic Resistance

13 September 2025

13 September 2025

Ancient DNA recovered from İnönü Cave in Türkiye’s Zonguldak province has uncovered evidence that prehistoric people used charcoal-based remedies to...

Archaeologists Discover 2,000-Year-Old Jug in Tajikistan Bearing Woman’s Name

4 July 2025

4 July 2025

In a discovery of rare historical and cultural significance, archaeologists in southern Tajikistan have uncovered a 2,000-year-old clay jug bearing...

A center on the Anatolian Mesopotamian trade route; Tavsanli Mound

24 October 2021

24 October 2021

Excavations at Tavşanlı mound, which is known to be the first settlement in Western Anatolia during the Bronze Age, continue....

City swallowed by sea now center of boat tours

10 September 2023

10 September 2023

The Kekova region, or Sunken City, which has remained under the sea after two major earthquakes in the sixth century...

Iron Age port discovered on Swedish island of Gotska Sandön

21 September 2023

21 September 2023

Archaeologists have discovered an Iron Age port on Gotska Sandön, an island and national park in Sweden’s Gotland district. In...

Excavations of Aççana Mound, the Capital of the Mukish Kingdom, Continue

16 July 2021

16 July 2021

2021 excavations have started at Aççana Höyük, the old city of Alalah, in Hatay’s Reyhanlı district. The ancient city of...

The ashes of 8,000 victims were found in two mass graves near the Soldau concentration camp in Poland

14 July 2022

14 July 2022

Polish authorities said they had unearthed two mass graves near the former Nazi concentration camp Soldau containing the ashes of...

Researcher found the head of the statue of Bacchus, inside a water channel near the ancient city of Cyrene in Libya

31 December 2023

31 December 2023

Libyan Archeology researcher, Issam Menfi found the head of the statue of Bacchus, which dates back to the Greek era,...

Collectors In The Prehistoric World Recycled Old Stone Tools To Preserve The Memory Of Their Ancestors

16 March 2022

16 March 2022

A first-of-its-kind study at Tel Aviv University asks what drove prehistoric humans to collect and recycle flint tools that had...

Bronze Age Petroglyphs discovered in Kazakhstan

1 May 2024

1 May 2024

Volunteers in Kazakhstan have discovered new petroglyphs from the Bronze Age. The rock carvings were found by volunteers of the...