2 Thousand-Year-Old Hellenistic Grave Found in Haydarpaşa Excavations

A new artifact has been found in the excavations at the Haydarpaşa Train Station campus, which has been continuing since 2018. It was determined that the tomb, which was stated to belong to the Hellenistic period, belonged to someone who was buried by burning.

Archaeologists continuing their research in the excavation area came across the latest Hellenistic cream tomb. archaeophileAccording to the news of , the artifact is important because it is the only example from the Hellenistic period that emerged outside the platform.

'The grave was cremated'

Rahmi Asal, Director of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, stated that the artifacts found are the oldest findings of the period, and that the tomb has some unique features.

Asal said:

“Since there are no other burn marks around, we understand that the skeleton did not burn due to a fire in the layer. He was buried in this grave by cremation. It's just been opened, skeletons and relics are just being revealed. Something very important. It is the only Hellenistic period find in this region outside of the Hellenistic period platform. It's very precious to him. One of the earliest finds in this area. We detected two dead gifts inside the tomb. Unfortunately, they were also destroyed by fire. A terracotta goblet and a perfume bottle were found. Archaeologists continue their work. It is very important to find a Hellenistic tomb here in terms of its chronology, and the second is that it is a cremation. I have never seen such cremation tombs of the Hellenistic period. This is a good example. Maybe it will give us much more valuable findings in the coming period.”

“Excavations are carried out under the supervision of anthropologists and archaeologists”

Expressing that multiple burial samples were encountered in the excavation area, Rahmi Asal stated that the studies were carried out under the supervision of anthropologists and archaeologists. Stating that important steps have been taken in the studies carried out so far in order to obtain the space plans, Asal stated that 18.000 coins were also found in the excavations.

In previous excavations, a holy spring (healing water source) belonging to the Byzantine period, a fountain belonging to the Ottoman period and a shelter built during the Second World War were also found. With the removal of the platforms at the train station, the artifacts that came to light in the daytime are planned to be created around the historical station and exhibited in an area in the future.