With over 3,000 unique artifacts ranging from statues to weapons and ceramics dating back to before Christ, archaeological excavations at the 2,300-year-old site Kurul Castle in Türkiye's Black Sea province of Ordu are marking their 13th year with new discoveries.
Kurul is believed to be Mithridates VI's castle and was a significant settlement. Mithridatic kings came to the mid-Black Sea region after the Iron Age, and Mithridates VI the Great was the most successful Mithridatic king, extending the empire to the Aegean coast and the northern edge of the Black Sea.
Thousands of artifacts, such as iron tools, ceramics, bowls, pots, spears and arrowheads, axes, daggers, weapons, ornaments, a blacksmith's anvil and cubes, as well as sculptures, have been unearthed. One of the team's most impressive finds is the 2,100-year-old statue of the goddess Cybele from the sixth Mithridatic period.
The detailed statue stands at just over 1 meter (3 feet) and was a popular stop for visitors to the site. The statue is currently undergoing restoration in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum and will be returned to Ordu once the restoration is complete.
The excavations are being carried out by a team from Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University's Faculty of Letters and headed by the university's archaeology department head, professor Süleyman Yücel Şenyurt.
"Since 2010, many works have been uncovered. From what we've deciphered from the architectural remains, this place was abandoned after the Roman invasion. We have found all kinds of artifacts, such as cubes, ceramics and metal. This was a city that lived 2,100 years ago that was suddenly destroyed and remained as it is. Since no other settlements were established on this spot, we are finding artifacts in the places where they were last used. Weapons, cannonballs, spears, daggers, there are many many examples," Şenyurt told Demirören News Agency (DHA).
"The most important historical artifacts found during the excavations have been the goddess Cybele statue, weighing 200 kilograms (440 pounds) and standing 1 meter tall, sitting on her throne, and the statue of the god of fertility Dionysus and the god Pan, and the Riton, an animal-shaped religious vessel," the professor explained.
"In addition to those artifacts, 300-step corridor stairs, terracotta roof tiles and masonry ceramic fragments belonging to the period before Christ have also been found," he said.
"We are hoping to find out what the Kurul Castle was called 2,300 years ago in our excavations this year. By uncovering significant sites next to the Cybele statue, we will try to learn the castle's previous name by finding epitaphs or similar artifacts," Şenyurt said.