Excavation

With a project initiated by state museums in Berlin for the return of smuggled historical artifacts, a team of Turkish and German historians will examine the source of the objects found at the archaeological sites in Zincirlihöyük, Didim and Samarra.

A 1,500-year-old underground passage has come to light during the ongoing excavation works in the remains of Saint Polyeuktos Church in Istanbul's Saraçhane neighborhood, which witnessed destruction during the Latin invasion.

The teams from Istanbul Municipality's Cultural Heritage Department on June 8 last year initiated excavation works in the area where the church lies.

Teams from Istanbul Municipality have discovered a statue from the Roman period, estimated to be 1,900 years old, in the area of the Saint Polyeuktos Church in Saraçhane that was destroyed during the Latin occupation.

The teams from Istanbul Municipality's Cultural Heritage Department initiated an excavation work in the area where the church was destroyed on June 8 last year.

The excavation works in Göbeklitepe, a 12-000-year-old Neolithic archaeological site in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, may continue for decades, an expert has said.

"The site unearthed until today is not even 10 percent of all the complex that is still underground," Necmi Karul, a member of the Göbeklitepe Science Board, told Demirören News Agency.

Myrtis, the celebrated reconstruction of a 5th century BC young Athenian girl whose remains were unearthed during excavations back in the 1990s, stars in a new animated video designed to increase awareness about the coronavirus pandemic.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry has unveiled a series of measures to be implemented for archaeological excavations, as the country makes preparations to reopen after having taken the coronavirus outbreak under control.

In a circular sent to museums, it has been stressed that archaeological excavations and surface analyses will start with strict measures on June 1.

Taking advantage of measures against the coronavirus outbreak, treasure hunters have destroyed a historical building, which is believed to be a Byzantine-era cistern, in Istanbul's Şile district.

A new building is under construction for destroyed stones that have been unearthed during excavations in the ancient city of Stratonikeia. The new building will serve as a "stone hospital," which was previously a tent.

Efforts at the ancient site of Göbeklitepe, known as the world's oldest temple, now must focus on conservation rather expanding excavation, said Turkish and German archeologists working at the 12,000-year-old dig site in southeastern Turkey.

To allow full excavation of the historic house in Turkey of St. Nicholas -- also known as Santa Claus -- the state must assume control of local land around the site, according to the chief historian on duty. Click through for the story in photos...