Artifacts are unearthed during the year-round excavations in the ancient city of Beçin, which is located in the Milas district of Turkey’s Aegean Muğla province. Underground radar and drones are also used in the archaeological studies to shed light on the history of the ancient city.

The radar helps take underground X-rays of some parts of the historical area, and the ancient city is transferred to the digital environment through the help of drones.

Kadir Pektaş, the head of the excavation team at the ancient city of Beçin and a professor at Istanbul Medeniyet University, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they carried out an intense program through excavations, restorations and other scientific research last year.

Stressing that they can carry out much more accurate excavation and scientific studies with the data obtained through digitization, he said, "Underground radar and drone-assisted digitization studies will open new horizons in the ancient city of Beçin."

“There are about 30 historical buildings in the ancient city that are built on a high plateau overlooking Muğla's Milas Plain,” Pektaş noted, saying Beçin is a unique place with its flora and fauna along with its cultural assets.

Iskender Dölek, an academic at Turkey’s Muş Alparslan University, said the studies in the ancient city will also support the creation of an up-to-date database of excavations.

“We are performing 3D scanning with a drone with special software. The data to be obtained is very important for sound excavations and revealing the past and present of the ancient city. The data will guide the future of archeology studies here,” Dölek added.

Beçin, which was the capital of the Anatolian Beylik of Menteshe in the 13th and 14th centuries, is currently on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

The archaeological site in Beçin has been systemically excavated since 1972, and in 2000, a stockpile of coins, 60,000 of which from the Ottoman period, were found. "It is not only the largest hoard that has ever been found in Turkey in archaeological excavations but also the largest cache of Ottoman coins that has ever been found," said UNESCO. Historical artifacts and ruins, including a 700-year-old cistern, were also among the important finds in the ancient city.

Many surviving structures in Beçin were meticulously renovated in the past. The restored historical Bey Bath and an ancient castle fountain with pointed arches built during the Menteshe Beylik stand out among them.