Archaeologists uncover 2,000-year-old mosaic in central Türkiye

Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism has announced the discovery of a mosaic-floored structure dating back more than 2,000 years at Kültepe, an archaeological site in Kayseri, central Türkiye.

According to a ministry statement, joint excavations east of Warşama Palace began in 2025 under a memorandum of understanding between the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage and Museums, Ankara University and South Korea’s National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage.

During the second season of excavations this year, archaeologists identified four successive Hellenistic cultural layers and the remains of a mosaic-floored structure.

Dating to the Hellenistic Period (323-30 B.C.), the surviving section of the mosaic measures 163 centimeters (64 inches) from east to west and 165 centimeters from north to south.

Other fragments of the flooring found around the structure suggest that the original mosaic extended over a much larger area.

The excavations also shed light on how the mosaic was made. Researchers found that the ground was first leveled and covered with a base of crushed stone and fine soil, then topped with a layer of small river pebbles.

The flooring also incorporated ceramic fragments, lime and other materials.

The discovery offers a closer look at Hellenistic building and flooring methods at Kültepe. The four Hellenistic layers, identified at the site for the first time, will also help researchers piece together how the settlement evolved over time.

Listed on UNESCO

By studying artifacts from each layer alongside the architectural remains, researchers hope to build a clearer picture of Kültepe’s history during the Hellenistic Period.

The findings will also help researchers better understand how the settlement was used during the Hellenistic Period, which has received less attention than the Bronze Age in previous excavations and studies.

Kültepe-Kaniş, which was inhabited from the third millennium B.C. through the Roman Period, was one of Anatolia’s major political, economic and cultural centers. Before the rise of the Hittite Empire, the settlement served as the capital of the Kingdom of Kaniş (also known as Kanesh) and is considered one of the principal centers where Hittite culture emerged.

The Upper City was home to royal palaces and temples, while the Lower City contained a karum, a commercial district and settlement area.

Kültepe is particularly well known for finds associated with Old Assyrian and Anatolian merchants. Around 23,500 cuneiform tablets discovered at the site are listed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.

Added to UNESCO’s Tentative World Heritage List in 2014, Kültepe has so far seen excavations covering only about 5% of its total area.

Digging deeper

Following the work on the Hellenistic layers, the joint project plans to conduct systematic research in deeper archaeological layers containing remains from the Kingdom of Kaniş through the Hittite Period.

Through joint excavations and multidisciplinary research, the project aims to expand scientific knowledge of Kültepe’s different historical periods and strengthen academic cooperation between Türkiye and South Korea in the field of cultural heritage.

‘Lesser-known periods’

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said in a post on social media that the discovery marked a first in Kültepe’s 78-year history of excavations.

Announcing the discovery of a mosaic-floored structure dating to the Hellenistic Period at Kültepe-Kaniş in Kayseri, Ersoy said: “The four distinct Hellenistic cultural layers we identified in the same area are also shedding light on the lesser-known periods of this ancient Anatolian center.”

Ersoy said the discovery was a valuable result of scientific and cultural cooperation between Türkiye and South Korea, highlighting the contributions of Ankara University and South Korea’s National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage. He congratulated excavation director Fikri Kulakoğlu and the joint Turkish-South Korean research team, thanked their South Korean partners and reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to bringing “Anatolia’s rich heritage to light through scientific research.”

DAILYSABAH