5 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The oldest meerschaum artifact found in Anatolia; of Çavlum Seal

The stamp seal unearthed during the rescue excavations of Çavlum Village on the Eskişehir Alpu Plain is the oldest meerschaum artifact found in Anatolia.

Meerschaum, which is used in making ornaments and pipes due to its light, soft and non-flammable properties, is mined in Eskişehir in Turkey.

Even though meerschaum is mined in a few countries in the world, most of the commercially workable deposits are located in Eskişehir.

Çavlum stamp seal, the oldest meerschaum work

During the salvage, excavations were carried out between 1999-2001 in Çavlum Village on the Alpu Plain, 16 kilometers east of Eskişehir province, the oldest processed meerschaum a stamp seal was found.

The stamp seal was found in the grave of an 8-year-old boy among 73 graves unearthed during the salvage excavations.

It is seen that there is only one line on the printing surface of the dead gift stamp seal, which was placed in a stone cist dating to the Middle Bronze Age (18th century BC). The reason is believed to be because the seal was placed as a dead gift before it was completed.

The stamp seal, which is a significant source of knowledge about the history of meerschaum usage, features a handle (diameter: 0.9 cm.) and a 1.6 cm. The imprinted face seal is 2.3 cm in length. It is possible that the line on the printing surface caused a fracture on the edge of the printing surface during production, resulting in no other traces on the seal, or that the seal was not fully finished.

The in-situ findings in Çavlum Middle Bronze Age Cemetery, where the stamp seal is found, also contribute to the emergence of new ideas on the Middle Bronze Age burial customs and to illuminate the problems related to the period.

Meerschaum processing has a history of approximately 5 thousand years.
Meerschaum processing has a history of approximately 5 thousand years.

What is Meerschaum?

Meerschaum, which has a white, light, and soft feature, is a type of rock formed as a result of the hydration of magnesium and silicon-based main rock fragments in metamorphic layers at various depths of the ground, by hydrothermal effects.

Meerschaum was named sepiolite in the mid-19th century by the German mineralogist (E. F. Glocker). This name comes from the Greek name for cuttlefish, “sepion”.

The processing of meerschaum, known as “Meerschaum” (seafoam) in German, as an artifact, dates back to about 5 thousand years when the data obtained from the latest archaeological excavations are examined.

Although meerschaum is mined in some parts of Greece, the Moravia region in the Czech Republic, France, Spain, Morocco, the USA, and Africa, almost all of the deposits are located in Eskişehir.

Source: Dumlupınar Üniversitesi, Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Öğretim Üyesi Doç. Dr. A. Nejat BİLGEN’in “ÇAVLUM ORTA TUNÇ ÇAĞI NEKROPOLÜ’NDE ELE GEÇEN LÜLETAŞI MÜHÜR” adlı makalesi Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi www.e-sosder.com

Related Articles

14th-century inscription found on Turkey’s Giresun Island

4 January 2022

4 January 2022

On Giresun Island, which is 1.2 kilometers (0.7 miles) off the Turkish province of Giresun on the Black Sea’s southeastern...

Roman Wooden Cellar Found in Frankfurt, Germany

28 February 2024

28 February 2024

Archaeologists from the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum have recently uncovered a remarkably preserved wooden cellar in the Roman city of Nida...

A 2000-year-old Rare Artifact was Found Near Poltava

25 May 2021

25 May 2021

Scarab beetle pendant found near the Ukrainian city of Poltava. During the building of the H-31 motorway in the Poltava...

The Famous Cueva de Ardales cave in Spain was used by ancient humans for over 50,000 years

8 June 2022

8 June 2022

Cueva de Ardales cave in Málaga, Spain,  famed for the extensive prehistoric art on its walls was excavated for the...

Treasure Hunters’ permission given to raise mystery canister in hunt for lost Nazi Gold

5 August 2022

5 August 2022

Treasure hunters claim they have permission to lift a buried canister that they believe may hold the loot next month...

1900 years old funerary altar of a teenage girl discovered in Rome

9 May 2022

9 May 2022

A funerary altar indicating the location of the remains of Valeria, a 13-year-old girl who died in the 2nd century...

Ritualistic Dog Burials Associated with the Goddess Gula Unearthed at the Harran Archaeological Site in Southeastern Türkiye

15 December 2024

15 December 2024

Excavations at the Harran archaeological site in Şanlıurfa, one of the world’s oldest settlements and listed on UNESCO’s Temporary World...

New study says earliest recorded kiss occurred 4500 years ago in Mesopotamia

18 May 2023

18 May 2023

The University of Copenhagen according to researchers, humanity’s earliest recorded kiss occurred around 4,500 years ago in the ancient Middle...

A 4,000-year-old treasure map of France’s

17 October 2023

17 October 2023 1

Overlooked for millennia, a rock fragment adorned with enigmatic inscriptions has emerged as a valuable “treasure map” for archaeologists. After...

Egyptian archaeologists discovered 16 meters long ancient papyrus with spells from the Book of the Dead

19 January 2023

19 January 2023

Archaeologists working in Egypt’s Saqqara region have unearthed a 16-meter-long ancient papyrus for the first time in a century. Saqqara...

2,000 Bronze Statue Fragments Found in Ancient Scrap Yard

20 January 2025

20 January 2025

Archaeologists in Izmir, Turkey have made an extraordinary discovery in the ancient city of Metropolis: Approximately 2,000 bronze statue fragments...

The latest discovery at the villa Civita Giuliana, north of Pompeii, the remains of a slave room

7 November 2021

7 November 2021

Ella IDE Pompeii archaeologists announced Saturday the discovery of the remnants of a “slave room” in an exceedingly unusual find...

Ancient Hippodrome, Subject of Ben-Hur Movie, Will Become “Arkeo Sports Park”

8 August 2021

8 August 2021

Ben-Hur, a wealthy prince living in Jerusalem, is a historical figure who struggled for the freedom of the Jews during...

Göbeklitepe Monolith will be Exhibited in the United Nations

15 May 2021

15 May 2021

A copy of one of the famous ruins of Göbeklitepe, known as the oldest temple in the world, will be...

The discovery of great importance for Urartian archeology in Çavuştepe castle: Discovered a horse skeleton with a bronze curb bit in its jaw

28 September 2023

28 September 2023

Archaeologists unearthed a horse skeleton with a bronze curb bit (a metal piece inserted into its mouth to guide the...