2500 Year Old Persian Palace Excavated in Northern Turkey
Independent Aggregator of Iran-related News/Events, Kodoom.com: The ancient Achaemenid Persian empire (circa 6th century BC) stretched from Anatolia and Egypt across western Asia to the borders of northern India and Central Asia. Recently researchers from the Istanbul University Archaeology Department excavated remains of a Persian palace at the Oluz Mound in the Göynücek district of Amasya province, northern Turkey, demonstrating the influence of the Persian empire on its Western Satrapies. The site in itself boasts an expansive urbanized area of 920 ft x 850 ft and has been under excavation since its discovery in the years between 1997 and 99.
Twelve academics, 10 archaeologists and 15 archaeology students worked on the excavation. According to Dr. Şevket Dönmez, the leader of the current excavation project, the site, during circa 450 BC, was probably governed by a branch of Achaemenid Persians. He further added how the site also harks back to older Iron Age cultures, like the powerful Hittites, thus alluding to its enigmatic status in the ancient world as a place of sacredness: "They are very important discoveries which will add to their identity and uniqueness. We have found six column bases so far... There is a very big Hittite city under the Persian city. We think that it is Shanovhitta. It shows us that this is a traditional sacred city and every new civilization built a temple here. We did not know that we would find such a Persian city. Neither such a temple nor such a reception chamber. We did not expect any of this!"
In 2017, Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul organized a global conference on "Achaemenid Anatolia: Persian Presence and Influence in the Western Satrapies 546–330 BC."
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