4 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The ruins of a temple dedicated to Goddess Kubaba found for the first time in ancient city of Kastabala, southern Türkiye

Ruins of a temple belonging to the goddess Kubaba were found in the Ancient City of Kastabala.

The ancient city of Kastabala is situated approximately 12 kilometers north-northwest of Osmaniye province, along the road from Cevdetiye Town to Karatepe Museum, in the middle of Kesmeburun, Bahçe and Kazmaca villages.

Kastabala, located in the southern region of Türkiye, is an ancient city steeped in history and mythology. Situated in the province of Osmaniye, this archaeological site showcases remnants of a rich past dating back to the Hittite and Assyrian periods. The city was a significant center during the Hellenistic and Roman eras, boasting temples, city walls, and various structures that reflect its cultural and religious significance.

During the excavations started at the end of the historical colonnaded street, ruins of the temple built by the Luwians, who are considered the oldest indigenous people of Anatolia, for their goddess Kubaba were discovered.

Photo: AA

Head of the excavation, Osmaniye Korkut Ata University (OKU) Archaeology Department Faculty Member Associate Professor Faris Demir told Anadolu Agency (AA) correspondent that the ancient city is the oldest sacred city in the plain Cilicia region.

Explaining that the ancient city was located in the center of the cultural region of the Luwians, Demir said:

“During the colonnaded street excavations, a building ruin, a temple, that we date to the Archaic period, that is, 540 BC, was unearthed. In Aramaic inscriptions located in the hinterland of Kastabala, the lands of Kastabala and Kubaba are mentioned. This building ruin we unearthed must be a temple belonging to the goddess Kubaba.”

Photo: AA

 “The priests of this Archaic temple walked on hot coals with bare feet, without feeling any pain. These ruins, which provide extraordinary information to Anatolian archeology, made us very excited.”

Demir stated that the excavations in the ancient city of Kastabala will continue to provide extraordinary information to Anatolian archaeology.

The ruins of a temple dedicated to Kubaba were found for the first time

Demir also gave information about Goddess Kubaba and said:

“Goddess Kubaba is a local Anatolian goddess. The fact that we came across a temple of this goddess made us very excited. It is the first time that such a temple ruins belonging to Kubaba have been found in Anatolian archeology.”

Photo: AA

Kubaba usually was represented as a dignified figure draped in a long robe, either standing or seated and holding a mirror. Her character is poorly known. She is first documented in texts from Kanesh and Alalakh, though her main cult center was Carchemish.

Cover Photo: AA

Related Articles

Jordan’s mysterious ancient wall “Khatt Shebib”

22 October 2022

22 October 2022

The accomplishments of ancient civilizations are typically woefully underappreciated because we stereotype them as primitives who only wore loincloths, and...

A protected Punic-Roman tower “Tal-Wilġa” has been turned into a building site

15 August 2021

15 August 2021

The Tal-Wilga tower, one of Malta’s Punic-Roman heritage sites, is in danger from construction work near it. The Superintendent of...

Whispers of Time: Exploring the Enigmatic Bronze Age Towers of Oman

24 February 2025

24 February 2025

The ancient Bronze Age towers scattered across Oman, dating back nearly 5,000 years, have long been a subject of curiosity...

Researchers decipher enigmatic ancient ‘Unknown Kushan Script’

13 July 2023

13 July 2023

A research team at the University of Cologne’s Department of Linguistics deciphered a writing system belonging to the Kushan Empire,...

A rare 2500-year-old saw, the first of its kind, discovered in Anatolia

28 November 2023

28 November 2023

Archaeologists conducting excavations in Çorum, the capital of the Ancient Hittite Empire in northern Turkey, discovered a 2,250-year-old saw. Recent...

Researchers may have uncovered the ruins of one of the largest ancient cafeterias for a Buddhist temple

9 February 2025

9 February 2025

Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery at the site of the Yamashiro Kokubunji temple, revealing what is believed to be...

Scandinavia’s first farmers slaughtered the hunter-gatherer population, according to a new study

9 February 2024

9 February 2024

Following the arrival of the first farmers in Scandinavia 5,900 years ago, the hunter-gatherer population was wiped out within a...

Archaeologists Uncovered a Roman-Era Clay Theater Ticket in Ancient City of Prusias ad Hypium

1 December 2024

1 December 2024

Excavations at the ancient city of Prusias Ad Hypium in the Konuralp region of Düzce in northwestern Türkiye have uncovered...

Archaeologists Uncover Exceptional Roman Mausoleum Near Lyon, Modeled After Augustus’ Tomb

23 August 2025

23 August 2025

Archaeologists in France have unearthed a remarkably well-preserved Roman mausoleum in Saint-Romain-en-Gal, near Lyon, that was modeled on the famous...

In the backstage of Smyrna Ancient Theater Latrina found

3 November 2021

3 November 2021

Interesting finds unearthed during the excavations of the 2400-year-old Ancient City of Smyrna in the Aegean region of Turkey continue...

Archaeologists discovered a mausoleum dating back to Golden Horde era in Kazakhstan

8 July 2023

8 July 2023

Remains of a mausoleum dating back to the Golden Horde in the 15th century were discovered on the territory of...

Archaeologists Discovered a Mysterious Ancient Bone Floor in Alkmaar, the Netherlands

16 December 2024

16 December 2024

Archaeologists found a part of a floor made of animal bones in Alkmaar, North Holland, the Netherlands. Experts are intrigued...

Extraordinary discovery for the Western Baltic Sea region: a 400-year-old shipwreck Found at Bottom of German River

3 August 2022

3 August 2022

During a routine measurement at Trave, near Lübeck, in the northern part of Germany,  Kiel-Holtenau Waterways and Shipping Authority (Wasserstraßen-...

Gold glass ‘Roma’ unearthed in the excavations of the Rome subway

7 February 2023

7 February 2023

A very rare and refined piece of gold glass representing ‘Roma’, the woman symbol of the Eternal City, has been...

A newly Discovered Church in Sudan could be a Cathedral

2 June 2021

2 June 2021

Archaeologists have found the remains of the largest church known from medieval Nubia in old Dongola (Sudan). Dongola was the...