Rare gladiator tombs found in ancient city in southern Türkiye

Archaeologists discovered rare gladiator tombs at the ancient city of Anavarza in Türkiye’s southern Adana province.

Anavarza, which made it to UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage in 2014, is home to past civilizations, including the ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantium, Sassanid and Ottoman empires.

The excavation team, which includes 24 staff, 30 scientists and two archaeologists led by Dr. Fatih Gülşen from Çukurova University, has been carrying out excavations at the site near the amphitheater and the theater sections this season, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

Noting that they found the tombs near the southern part of the excavation site, close to the amphitheater, Gülşen said they believe the gladiators fought here.

“We know that they organized not only gladiator fights but also water sports, games and festivals here,” Gülşen said, as he noted that the amphitheater at Anavarza is one of the four such examples in Anatolia.

Gülşen noted that they expect to discover the bones of gladiators and a necropolis in their excavations and shed more light on the history of the ancient site.

Since excavations at the site began in 2014, researchers have discovered limestone statues of the Greek goddess Hygieia and god Eros along with several mosaics and relics.

The city also features the world's first and oldest street, a 2,700-meter-long (8,860-feet-long) and 34-meter-wide road decorated with 1.5-meter-high columns.

The Anavarza castle sits on top of a central hill in the area, overlooking the vast and fertile Çukurova plain once known as Cilicia, and is regarded to be among the most important ancient castles in Türkiye.