Archaeologists have discovered a 4th century Roman castle in Turkey that they believe is the last of the Roman Empire in the east.
The castle is in Çattepe in the province of Siirt, close to the Botan Valley in southeast Turkey. Archaeologists found the castle during a dig being conducted during the construction of the Ilisu Dam – the castle will be submerged when the dam goes online.
Ege University Professor Haluk Sağlamtimur told ‘Hurriyet Daily News’: “This place is rich enough to fill a museum. There is everything you can imagine here, such as bronze artefacts, pots and pans, beads, metals, pins and silver artwork. The data we have shows that copper sources in Siirt are very rich. We also found a set of game stones in one of the graves. This set includes 49 pieces and dates back [to antiquity]. We think that it might be the father of chess or a war game in ancient times. We will try to find out this year.”
Sağlamtimur continued: “We think that it is our right to want a museum in Siirt. If we had a museum, it would be filled with these artefacts found in the last few years.”
