2,700-year-old children's cemetery discovered in Turkey (5 photos)

During excavations on the island of Bozcaada, ancient burials were found. Bozcaada (also Tenedos) is a small island in the northern Aegean Sea, southeast of the Dardanelles Strait.





The name Tenedos is associated with the name of the legendary hero Tenes, who ruled the island during the Trojan War.

According to legend, Tenedos was a staging post for the Greek army under the command of Agamemnon during the Trojan War. The island was used by Xerxes as a base during the Persian War.



New discoveries were made during excavations led by Turan Takaoglu, a professor at the Faculty of Archaeology at Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University.

In 2023, many children's graves were discovered in the necropolis area. It is noteworthy that children were buried in different ways. They were buried along with ritual paraphernalia in pithoi, amphorae and shaft tombs.





The most interesting was the pithos or cubic grave of the 6th century BC. e., in which in the 4th century BC. e. placed another pithos burial. Also found in it were six terracotta figurines of goddesses and a bronze pin in the shape of a horse's leg.

“The first burial in the pithos was made in the 6th century BC, and then, about 200 years later, in the 4th century BC, that is, in the Late Classical period, a second burial was made,” said Professor Omer Kahn Yildirim.



"When we look at the general characteristics of the artifacts, at the way the goddesses are depicted, at the way they are dressed, we can determine the beliefs that prevailed during that period, understand the attitude towards buried children. If we evaluate these artifacts from the point of view of history, then stylistic and analogue "The features show that they were made approximately 2,700 years ago and placed in the grave of a child who died at an early age."

“The clothing depicted on the figurines belongs to the Phrygian culture, reflecting the cult of Cybele, as well as Dionysus. This tells us about the dominant religion in the 4th century BC on Tenedos,” Yildirim added.