In the ongoing excavations in Seyitömer mound in western Kütahya province, experts have discovered a 4,500-year-old rope.
The excavations have been carried out in the mound by Kütahya Museum Directorate under the supervision of museum expert Serdar Ünan for three years. Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Nazan Ünan, an academician of Kütahya Dumlupınar University (DPÜ), said they have been sustaining the work in the mound with a technical staff of 50, comprised of archaeologists, restorers, architects, architectural restorers and ceramic experts, plus a team of 250 laborers.
A view of the rope remains in Seyitömer Mound, Kütahya, western Turkey, Dec. 23, 2021. (AA Photo)
Noting that they have unveiled settlements dating back to the second and third period of the Early Bronze Age and Roman period in the mound to date, Ünan said that they also discovered around 6,000 archaeological finds shedding light on the mound's past.
Stating that the most surprising finding in the mound in 2021 was the remains of a 4,500-year-old rope, she continued: “We found these remains in an area where a fire broke out in the past. We consider the rope remains important because they are almost the same thickness and weave as the ropes we use today.”
Ünan also explained that the remains of the rope along with many other organic items have survived to date because they were originally burned.
A general view from Seyitömer Mound, Kütahya, western Turkey, Dec. 23, 2021. (AA)
Seyitömer Mound
Seyitömer Mound, which dates to the third century B.C., is located in the work area of the Çelikler Seyitömer Electricity Generation Corporation, 26 kilometers (16 miles) from the city's center.
The excavation of the mound, which had an original height of 26 meters (85 feet), width of 140 meters and length of 150 meters, was initiated by the Eskişehir Museum Directorate in 1989 to bring 12 million tons of lignite under it into the economy.
The mound was excavated by the Afyonkarahisar Museum Directorate between the years 1990 and 1995. The DPÜ Archeology Department took over the excavations in 2006. The excavation team consisting of academic staff, students and workers continued working in the mound until 2014. More than 17,000 artifacts excavated from the mound have been handed over to the Museum Directorate for display.
The excavations have resumed, run by the Kütahya Museum Directorate, since 2019.
