A foundation excavation in Türkiye's Afyonkarahisar unearthed a sarcophagus from the Roman era with human bones and four ceramic ash containers inside.
Speculations stir regarding the sarcophagus found in the city's Dinar district, which was determined to date back to the Roman era. After the sarcophagus was found, family members who owned the land filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office because the construction company had carried out unauthorized excavation without a permit.
While the investigation into the incident continues, the cubes found in the sarcophagus were opened at the Afyonkarahisar Museum Directorate. The four ceramic ash containers, called urns, found in the grave were opened under the supervision of the landowners. Human bones were found inside the urns, which were determined to date back to the first and second centuries A.D.
The Hittites first inhabited the region that is now Afyonkarahisar in the second millennium B.C. After the decline of the Hittite Empire, the area was controlled by various powers, including the Phrygians, Lydians, Persians and Alexander the Great's Macedonian armies.
During the Roman period, Afyonkarahisar became an important city because of its location on the trade routes connecting the Aegean coast to central Anatolia. As a result, the Romans named the city "Acmonia" and built many important structures, including a theater, agora and public baths.
In the early Middle Ages, the Byzantine Empire ruled Afyonkarahisar and played a vital role in the Empire's efforts to resist Arab incursions into Anatolia. The Seljuk Turks later captured the city in the 12th century and became an important center of Islamic learning and culture.
In the centuries that followed, Afyonkarahisar continued to play a vital role in the history of Anatolia. The Mongol Empire occupied it in the 13th century and later became part of the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century. During the Ottoman period, the city was known for producing opium grown in the surrounding countryside and processed in the city's many opium factories.
