Four epigraphs made of marble and limestone belonging to the Umayyad period were unearthed in the ongoing archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Knidos, a site that harbors around 3,000 years of history.
The excavations are being carried out by Selçuk University on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Turkish Historical Society and the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums.
Located in the coastal district of Datça, Muğla, which stretches along Turkey's Aegean coast, archaeologists date the city back to the first half of 2000 B.C. The city was home to a medical school and physicians famous in the ancient world. The Umayyads ruled the city between A.D. 685 and 711.
Excavation Director Ertekin Doksanaltı said that in the ancient city of Knidos, excavations have been continuing uninterrupted since 2016, within the framework of the 12-month excavation project of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
"On the first day of Ramadan, Knidos gave us a beautiful gift. Four new Umayyad inscriptions were unearthed during our archaeological excavations. These inscriptions, which belong to the early period of Islam, constitute the largest such finds in western Anatolia," Doksanaltı said.
"Knidos showed how important it can be in terms of Islamic historiography as the data collected here will shed light on the early periods of Islam," he added.
The inscriptions range in size from 15 centimeters (6 inches) to around 1 meter (3.2 feet).
The excavation team consists of 40 people, including geologists, architects, restorers, art historians, biologists, anthropologists and excavation staff.