28 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Roman-era chambers and clay offering vessels found in Antiocheia Ancient City, in southern Turkey

During excavations in southern Turkey’s ancient city of Antiocheia, archaeologists discovered late Roman-era chambers and clay offering vessels.

Antakya, better known in English as Antioch  (also officially known as Hatay), was first founded by Seleucus, one of the heirs to Alexander the Great’s vast empire around the year 300 BC. The city flourished and under the Romans became incredibly wealthy and influential.

The newly born religion of Christianity began to take root in the city during the Roman period, and it was in Antioch that the term “Christian” was first used to refer to followers of Jesus Christ.

A 12-person team led by the local archaeology museum began excavations around the Church of St. Pierre, a pilgrimage site for many Christians, on October 10 in the province of Hatay.

The excavations team conducts the first excavations of ancient city’s residential areas, says the local archeology museum head.



📣 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!!



Archaeologists work on excavations at the ancient city of Antiocheia in Hatay, Türkiye. Photo: AA
Archaeologists work on excavations at the ancient city of Antiocheia in Hatay, Türkiye. Photo: AA

“During the excavations, we found rooms and many offering vessels belonging to the settlement from the late Roman era,” said Ayse Ersoy, head of the Hatay Archeology Museum.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Ersoy said: “We think that at that time, people who visited the church on pilgrimage bought offering vessels from here, and filled it with holy water in the Church of St. Pierre.”

The ancient city was situated on the foothills of Mount Starius, also known as Habib-i Neccar, and the Asi River, including the cave church, carved into the mountainside at the place where St. Pierre first preached, according to UNESCO.

These were the first scientific excavations in the residential areas of Antiocheia, noted Ersoy.

Clay offering vessels were discovered in excavations at the ancient city of Antiocheia in Hatay, Türkiye. Photo: AA Photo
Clay offering vessels were discovered in excavations at the ancient city of Antiocheia in Hatay, Türkiye. Photo: AA Photo

St. Pierre Church

St. Pierre, to whom the church is dedicated, is the founder of the Antakya Church, the archpriest of the first Christian community in the city, and the world’s first Pope. The St. Pierre church and its surroundings played an important role in the early Christian period and the spread of the faith.

The cave in which the church was constructed is the place St. Pierre firstly preached. Later it was turned to an official church.

The city of Antakya (Hatay) was one of the first places outside of Palestine where the Christian religion took root, and it is believed that this cave was once owned by St Luke the Evangelist (Gospel writer) and given to the young church in Antioch. According to tradition and two biblical passages (Acts 9:23, Galatians 2:11) it is said that Pierre, a disciple of Jesus himself, established the church here in Antioch which is where the name The Church of St. Pierre comes from. Antakya was also the home of a number of other influential saints from the earliest stages of the Christian faith such as St. Ignatius who was martyred in Rome in 110 AD.

Related Articles

Over 20 terracotta warriors have been discovered in the Terracotta Army pit in China

24 January 2022

24 January 2022

More than 20 Terracotta Warriors were unearthed from the Terracotta Army pit in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi province, according to...

New Research Reveals Previously Unknown Aspects of the Construction, Use, and Ritual Significance of a Neolithic Rondel Found in Poland

12 December 2024

12 December 2024

An archaeological excavation at Nowe Objezierze in north-western Poland has uncovered a rondel dating to around 4800 BC, offering new...

The Lion of Venice was Made in China: : Isotopic Analyses and Stylistic Comparisons Prove it

16 September 2024

16 September 2024

Recent scientific studies have revealed that the famous bronze-winged lion above one of the two columns in Piazzetta San Marco,...

Czech experimental archaeologists successfully completed their 1-month voyage in the Aegean Sea using a replica of a prehistoric vessel

17 July 2023

17 July 2023

Radomír Tichý, an archeology professor at the University of Hradec Králové who is also the director of the Všestary Archeopark,...

A hungry Badger uncovers the largest collection of such coins ever discovered in northern Spain

11 January 2022

11 January 2022

Archaeologists have uncovered a rich trove of 209 Roman-era coins in northwestern Spain, due to the apparent efforts of a...

One of the oldest known mosques in the world uncovered in Israel

23 June 2022

23 June 2022

A team of Israeli archaeologists has discovered what is one of the oldest known mosques in the world. Israeli archaeologists...

The first time in Anatolia, a legionnaires’ cemetery belonging to the Roman Empire unearthed

18 November 2022

18 November 2022

In the ancient city of Satala, in the Kelkit district of Gümüşhane in the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey,...

Thousand-year-old bone skate discovered in Czech Republic

20 March 2024

20 March 2024

Archaeologists from the central Moravian city of Přerov, Czech Republic have announced a unique discovery. While carrying out excavations in...

Excavation of the Temple of Athena Began in the Ancient City of Aigai

15 October 2021

15 October 2021

The foundations of the Temple of Athena were unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Aigai, located...

A prehistoric monument consisting of three round enclosures, one of which resembles a horseshoe, was discovered in France

7 April 2024

7 April 2024

Archaeologists from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) unearthed an unusual, prehistoric monument in the shape of...

Homo Sapiens are older than we previously thought

16 January 2022

16 January 2022

Researchers have discovered that Omo I skeletons, previously thought to be less than 200,000 years old, are 230,000 years old....

Excavations at Körzüt Castle unearth 2 cuneiform inscriptions and a new Urartian Susi temple

25 October 2023

25 October 2023

During the rescue excavations carried out at the Körzüt Castle in the Muradiye district of Van province in eastern Turkey,...

The 1000-year Curse of the Croatian King Zvonimir

26 September 2023

26 September 2023

Croatia is a fascinating country that continually rises up people’s must-visit lists thanks to its sparkling Adriatic coastline, 1,244 islands,...

Two statuettes of Demeter discovered in Aigai, the ‘city of goats’ of the Aeolians in western Türkiye

20 November 2023

20 November 2023

Two statuettes of Demeter, the Greek goddess of earth and fertility, were discovered in a cistern in the ancient city...

An Outstanding Discovery Sheds Light on African Prehistory: 9,000-Year-Old Workshop Unearthed in Senegal

9 September 2025

9 September 2025

Senegal’s Falémé Valley has revealed one of West Africa’s best-preserved prehistoric sites, offering unprecedented insight into the last hunter-gatherers of...