Aerial view of Kultepe in Kayseri, Turkiye (Korea Heritage Service)
By Lee Ji Yae
A joint excavation with Turkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Ankara University has discovered the remains of a mosaic structure dating back to the Hellenistic period (323-30 B.C.) and four cultural layers at the Kultepe archaeological site in Kayseri, Turkiye.
The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage under the Korea Heritage Service on Oct. 29 said this was the first relic of its kind found at the site since excavation work began there in 1948.
Kultepe, the site of an ancient city that flourished from around 3,000 B.C. through the Roman Empire period, is known as the cultural cradle of the Hittites, a civilization centered around the ancient Anatolia region of present-day Turkiye.
Previous excavations had focused on the Bronze Age, but after launching collaborative operations last year, a joint team identified mosaic remains believed to belong to a building that used Hellenistic architectural techniques.
The discovery of the four cultural layers from the period offers clues not only to a single architectural structure but also provides evidence on the site’s evolution and use of space there at the time.
At a briefing on the findings on Oct. 27 at the Hotel Koreana in Seoul’s Jung-gu District, the Turkish side credited the Korean team’s use of precise, scientific methods in research spanning geological surveys and 3-D technology to document and analyze artifacts.
Ankara University professor Fikri Kulakoglu, who leads the excavation, also praised Korea’s achievements in the project.
The two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding the same day and agreed to hold an exhibition next year at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul’s Jongno-gu District to mark the 70th anniversary of bilateral relations. The display will showcase the results of joint excavations, including clay tablets unearthed at Kultepe that provided a glimpse at trade and daily life in Anatolia some 4,000 years ago.
The institute plans to keep boosting cooperation with Turkiye and other countries in cultural heritage research and publicly share its findings through exhibitions and academic exchanges.
ljyhwa@korea.kr
