2,100-year-old Hellenistic temple unearthed in Turkey

By Hamza Tav and Abdullah Ozkul

NIGDE, Turkey

A Hellenistic era temple which dates back to more than 2,000 years has been unearthed in archeological excavations in central Turkey.

The 2,100-year-old temple was found in Kinik Mound, an archeological site located in Yesilyurt village of Altunhisar district, Nigde province.

A team of Turkish and Italian archaeologists has been working in the site since 2011.

Professor Lorenzo D’Alfonso, a New York University academic and head of the excavations, affirmed the temple went to Hellenistic time.

“We continued excavations just below the place where we found the temple, and we found another temple dating back to the Hellenistic period, 2,100 years ago,” D’Alfonso told Anadolu Agency on Saturday.

D’Alfonso said that Kinik Mound likely hosted no city or settlement unit as of 30 B.C.

“We also found parts of a bull statue made from ceramics,” he added.

Basri Akdemir, the provincial director of culture and tourism, for his part, said: "207 movable cultural properties have been brought to the Nigde Museum [found] in these excavations since 2011."

The excavations come as part of a 10-year joint project between University of Pavia, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World and New York University, supported and participated by Turkey’s Nigde and Erzurum Universities.

In 2016, a 2,500-year-old temple dating back to the late Persian era had been discovered at the same site.