The ancient city of Sillyon, founded on a high hill for security at the beginning of the 2nd millennium B.C. and home to various structures from the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman periods, continues its excavation work year-round.
Excavation work at the ancient city, which has gained momentum under the "Heritage for the Future Project" initiated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, has uncovered four Roman-era tombs.
One of the tombs contained burials from three different periods belonging to three individuals. A ring, an earring, a hairpin, and coins were unearthed from inside the tomb.
Associate Professor Murat Taşkıran, head of the Sillyon Ancient City excavations and a faculty member at Pamukkale University, told Anadolu Agency that they came across a very unique Roman-era tomb at the beginning of the 2025 excavation season at the ancient city of Sillyon.
Taşkıran stated that the Roman tomb had a chamber-type feature, which is how they classified it, and added: "We saw that a tomb was built right in the center of the square-planned chamber, and it contained several types of burials. We found burials from three different periods belonging to three individuals in the tomb. The first was an early burial, then its skeleton was swept away, and a second burial was placed, and then a third individual was laid here. During the excavation work, we came across a number of archaeological artifacts that we call grave goods or burial gifts. "
"The coins we found allowed us to date the period, and we obtained terracotta, glass artifacts, figurines, and various metal accents from the tomb. When we put all of these together, we saw that it dates to the late 2nd century A.D. We concluded that this burial is extremely important for the archaeology of both Sillyon and the region because a unique burial ritual for this area was observed, and we encountered a type of tomb that we didn't know much about in the region. It is important because it shows that the individuals in the tomb were prominent aristocrats of the city. Several artifacts such as an earring, a ring, and a hairpin were found in the tomb."
