1,500-year-old blacksmith workshop unearthed at ancient city in southern Türkiye

Archaeologists have uncovered a remarkably well-preserved blacksmith workshop dating back about 1,500 years at the ancient city of Seleukeia Sidera in Türkiye’s southern Isparta province, offering rare insight into ironworking and industrial activity in the fifth century A.D.

The discovery was made during year-round excavations carried out by Suleyman Demirel University in Isparta with permission from Türkiye’s Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Archaeologists uncovered an iron-production furnace, an anvil, a charcoal storage area, an iron-quenching pool, and numerous ironworking artifacts, revealing nearly every stage of iron production within a single workshop.

Isparta Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Vural Oguzlar told reporters that excavations at Seleukeia Sidera have accelerated this year following an increase in personnel assigned to the project.

He said significant discoveries had been made in the city’s ancient marketplace, where commercial activity once flourished.