30 November 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

Salvage Excavations Started in Giresun Island on Turkey’s Black Sea Coast

Rescue excavations are starting again on Giresun Island, where the first examples of human settlement in the Black Sea Region in northern Turkey are seen.

Giresun Island Rescue Excavations will be carried out by a group of archaeologists and art historians in September, October, according to a written statement by the Governorship of Giresun.

Giresun Island, a Subject of Many Legends and Myths

Giresun Island, which has traces of human life since the 2nd millennium BC, has been the subject of many legends and myths. The legend of “Hercules and the golden fur” is one of the most well-known narratives. In the written statement that there is a legend that Amazon women organized expeditions to the island and established a living space here, the following information was given about the cultural assets that Giresun Island hosts.

“Numerous remains and traces of life belonging to the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods have been found. The wall ruins surrounding the island and the ruins of the temple dated to the 2nd century AD, the church, chapel, water well, and many tomb structures known to have been built in the 12th century after AD, reveal the cultural richness of the island.”

The Hamza stone
The Hamza Stone found on Giresun Island exhibits the presence of the Goddess Cybele.

The Hamza Stone, seen as the center of a mystical belief with a history of 4 thousand years, is the most important structure of Giresun Island. The island was declared as a Second Degree Natural and Archaeological Site by the Trabzon Cultural Heritage Regional Board Directorate on 17.05.1991.

Selcuk University Archeology Department Made Excavations

The archeology department of Konya Selçuk University first conducted surveys on Giresun Island between 2009-2010. Archeological excavations on Giresun Island were carried out by again Konya Selçuk University Archeology Department between 2011-2012 under the Presidency of Giresun Museum.

The explanation, which mentions that some structures were partially unearthed on the island surrounded by walls with these studies, said: “Along with structures such as churches, towers, administrative buildings, chapels, and cisterns built on the medieval settlement, the harbor area and offering pits belonging to the Classical and Hellenistic periods were identified.”

Giresun Island archaeological excavations continued in 2015-2016-2017, and in these excavations, areas where various ceramics, frescoes, mosaics, used as wine cubes, Byzantine period coins, and many skeletons were unearthed.

Related Articles

World’s Smallest Stegosaurus Track Found

14 March 2021

14 March 2021

The smallest trace of stegosaurus in the world that lived 155 million years ago was found. Stegosaurus, a herbivorous dinosaur,...

New Study reveals how England’s ‘White Queen’ worshipped a disembowelled saint at the Chapel of St Erasmus

5 December 2022

5 December 2022

A new study reveals the story of how England’s “White Queen”, Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV, once worshipped at...

Researchers have found in miniature ceramic bottles evidence of the oldest known use of cosmetics in the Balkans

14 July 2021

14 July 2021

In miniature ceramic bottles from excavations ascribed to the Lasinja Culture in the Southeast Prealps and the Vinča Culture in...

Evidence of Necromancy during Roman era in the Te’omim Cave, Jerusalem Hills: Oil Lamps, Spearheads, and Skulls

14 July 2023

14 July 2023

Te’omim Cave in the Jerusalem Hills may once have served as a local oracle where people communed with the dead...

Queen of Seas Who Challenged Rome: ‘Queen Teuta’

31 October 2023

31 October 2023

Illyrian Queen Teuta is one of the most extraordinary figures of Illyrian antiquity and of Albanian heritage. She was also...

A statue of God Apollo was found during sewerage works in Afyon city in western Turkey

30 May 2021

30 May 2021

A statue thought to belong to God Apollo was found during sewerage works in Afyon city in western Turkey. During...

Stonehenge could be a solar calendar, according to a new study

2 March 2022

2 March 2022

A new study posits that the Stonehenge circles served as a calendar that tracks the solar year of 365.25 days,...

Farmer Found Sarcophagus of Hellenistic Period in his Field

9 April 2021

9 April 2021

The citizen named E. G. in Akçakoca, Taşkuyucak District of Gölmarmara district of Manisa (Turkey), while plowing his field, thought...

The oldest grave in northern Germany 10,500 years old

14 October 2022

14 October 2022

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest known human remains in northern Germany in a 10,500-year-old cremation grave in Lüchow, Schleswig-Holstein. The...

A 2,000-year-old whistle was found in a child’s grave in the ruins of Assos, Turkey

18 October 2022

18 October 2022

A terracotta whistle believed to be 2,000 years old from the Roman era and placed as a gift in a...

A fragment with the oldest Syriac translation of the New Testament discovered

7 April 2023

7 April 2023

A researcher from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, with the help of ultraviolet photography, was able to discover a small...

An intact Punic Tomb was Discovered in Malta

29 May 2021

29 May 2021

İntact a tomb dating to the Punic period was found in Tarxien. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage has announced the...

“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...

Archaeologists reveal largest paleolithic cave art site in Eastern Iberia

17 September 2023

17 September 2023

More than 100 ancient paintings and engravings thought to be at least 24,000 years old were found in the cave...

‘World’s oldest dated rune stone’ found in Norway

18 January 2023

18 January 2023

The oldest known Rune stone in Norway has been discovered by Norwegian archaeologists working at the Museum of Cultural History...