Badge found in Turkey’s historical Zerzevan Fortress arouses curiosity

A badge found in Turkey's southeastern province of Diyarbakır during the excavations at the 3,000-year-old Zerzevan Fortress that was used as a "military settlement" during the Roman Empire, aroused curiosity.

Excavation work, launched in 2014 by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Dicle University, Turkish History Association, and some other regional institutions, is still in progress.

A Roman Mithras underground temple, tower defense, church, office building, residential houses, grain and arms depots, bunkers, rock tombs, and water channels, as well as many vital artifacts were revealed in the Zerzevan Castle.

It is also on the temporary list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Aytaç Coşkun, a faculty member at Dicle University and the head of the excavation team, told Anadolu Agency that they have found a badge during the excavation work.

The motif on the surface of the badge, removed from a depth of 125 centimeters on the eastern walls of the Zerzevan Fortress during the ongoing excavations, was first designed in 1782, Coşkun said.

"Early examples of this type of badge or buttons were used in the U.S. in the 1850s. Since 1902, this badge-like coat of arms has also been used by the U.S. army. Similar examples were also used in World War I and belong to the general service unit," he stressed.

He added that the Latin inscription "E Pluribus Unum" was placed on the badge.

"This is the first official slogan of the U.S. This slogan, which is Latin (the official language of the Roman Empire), means 'from multiplicity to unity.' This slogan was used to mean the union of the 13 colonies that make up the U.S.

On the right paw of the eagle is an olive branch, on the left is a tightly drawn bundle consisting of 13...