29 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The 3200-year-old Mycenaean figure that brought Ephesus together with the Hittite civilization: Found in the excavations of Ayasuluk Tepe

A 3,200-year-old Mycenaean figurine that could change the perspective on the history of civilization in Western Anatolia during the Bronze Age was found during the excavations at Ayasuluk Tepe in the Selçuk district of İzmir.

The statuette also strengthened the judgment that Appasas, the capital of the Arzava Kingdom, a kingdom affiliated with the Hittites, was founded in the Selçuk and Ephesus regions and that there was interaction in many areas such as trade between the Hittites and Mycenaean civilizations.

Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Art History Department Lecturer Assoc. Dr. Sinan Mimaroğlu During the excavations carried out under the direction of, a Mycenaean figurine with a height and width of 5 cm, whose head and feet could not be found, was unearthed, as well as ceramics from the Bronze Age.

25 scientists, who are experts in different disciplines such as art history, anthropology, and genetics, agreed as a result of the preliminary study that the Mycenaean figurine is strong evidence of a Bronze Age settlement on Ayasuluk Tepe.

Head of the excavation, associate professor Sinan Mimaroğlu, said that they were excited to find a Mycenaean figurine during the drilling in the ground they called bedrock.

Photo: AA

Noting that figurines in similar forms have been found in 5 more centers in Western Anatolia to date, Mimaroğlu said, “During the drilling work, we found a piece of a Mycenaean figure when we went down to the bedrock of the castle. The Mycenaean figurine is dated to 1200 BC. I can say that this find is another proof that Ayasuluk Hill is associated with Appasas, which was the capital city during the Hittite period.” used the phrases.

Despite the acceptance of many historians, Mimaroğlu stated that they could not scientifically match Ayasuluk Hill and Appasas without a seal, and gave the following information:

“The Mycenaean figure indicates that there was a strong Bronze Age settlement here. There were important centers and settlements in Western Anatolia, especially during the Hittite period. For example, Appasas, the capital of Arzava, is matched with Ephesus and Ayasuluk Hill. But scientifically, we need seals to make that nomenclature. I hope it will come out in the coming seasons. If those seals say it’s Appasas for sure, then we’ll be able to say for sure. With the pieces found so far, we’re on our way to calling it Appasas.”

Sinan Mimaroğlu reminded that similar Mycenaean figurines were found in Troy, Limantepe, Kadıkalesi, Miletos, and Iasos, which are Bronze Age settlements.

Photo: AA

“This is where Ephesus was first established”

Emphasizing that Ayasuluk Hill was an important center for the late Bronze Age, Mimaroğlu said, “This is where Ephesus was first established. After all, it was a place on the seaside and they were trading.

“In the Late Bronze Age, we can say that there was a trade-in of ceramics, other materials, and mine between Western Anatolia and the islands or between continental Greece,” said.

“The material from which the figurines are made, namely the attribute of the clay, shows where they came from. According to our first observations, we think that the sample recovered was an imported material. It may have come from the islands,”.

We think that the people of that period also had this financial power since it was quite expensive to bring materials from abroad at that time. We found a large number of eaten oysters at the same level. The findings suggest that the upper class, that is, the class with monetary power, could access this food. The Mycenaean figure, these oyster shells, and the ceramics recovered actually complement each other like a vase.”

Known as the first settlement in Ephesus, where there has been an uninterrupted settlement for approximately 9 thousand years, starting from the prehistoric period, Ayasuluk Hill is located in the city center of Selçuk, approximately 3 kilometers from the Ancient City of Ephesus.

Related Articles

13,000-year-old Clovis campsite discovered in Michigan

10 September 2021

10 September 2021

In St. Joseph County, independent researcher Thomas Talbot and University of Michigan scholars uncovered a 13,000-year-old Clovis campsite, which is...

Ancient Elegance Revealed: Exquisite Jewelry and Amulets from the 26th Dynasty Discovered at Karnak

4 March 2025

4 March 2025

In a remarkable revelation that sheds light on ancient Egyptian craftsmanship, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, alongside the...

2,000-Year-Old Iron Age and Roman Treasures Found in Wales Could Point to an Unknown Roman Settlement

12 May 2023

12 May 2023

A metal detectorist found a pile of exceptionally preserved Roman and Iron Age objects buried 2,000 years ago in a...

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...

Hundreds of oil lamps discovered in Aigai, “the City of Goats”

23 September 2023

23 September 2023

During the ongoing excavations in the Aigai Ancient City, located near the Yuntdağı Köseler Village of Manisa province in western...

Study refutes previous assumptions, DNA evidence rewrites story of people buried in Pompeii eruption

8 November 2024

8 November 2024

Researchers from the University of Florence, Harvard University, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig analyzed the...

Archaeologists may have uncovered a 13th-century castle in Shropshire

7 August 2021

7 August 2021

Archaeologists have been working on a mound of land in Wem, Shropshire, that belongs to Soulton Hall, Elizabethan mansion and...

Burials covered in red dye discovered in Serbian barrows

18 February 2022

18 February 2022

Polish archaeologists excavating two barrow mounds in Vojvodina, in the northern part of the Republic of Serbia, have uncovered the...

Central Turkey’s largest Byzantine mosaic structure found

28 October 2021

28 October 2021

A 300-square-meter (3,330 square feet) ​floor mosaic belonging to the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period was discovered during excavation work in...

Rare 6th-Century BCE Wash Basin ‘Louterion’ Discovered in Malta

11 September 2024

11 September 2024

Archaeological investigations, initiated by a proposal to build a 130-meter-long boulder revetment along the shore of Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk to...

Archaeologists Discovered the Largest Inscription Ever Found in Sri Lanka

10 February 2024

10 February 2024

Archaeologists discovered the largest inscription ever found in Sri Lanka. The largest inscription ever discovered in Sri Lanka was found...

KIŠIB: A Digital Archive From 80,000 Mesopotamian Seals is Being Created

19 December 2024

19 December 2024

Over the next 16 years, a research team from the Institute for Near Eastern Archaeology at the Free University of...

Paleontologists say world’s oldest-known burial site found in South Africa

6 June 2023

6 June 2023

American explorer and scientist Lee Berger in South Africa said they have found the oldest-known burial site in the world,...

Denisovans or Homo Sapiens: Who Were the First to Settle Permanently on the Tibetan Plateau?

8 December 2021

8 December 2021

The Tibetan Plateau has long been considered one of the last places to be populated by people in their migration...

A Hoard of Gold and Silver Roman Coins Dating Back to the Reign of Emperor Nero was Found in Worcestershire

7 December 2024

7 December 2024

A hoard of Roman and Iron Age silver coins dating back to Emperor Nero’s reign has been found during building...