Following a 2017 report by a goat herder, fossil excavation began near the Yamula Dam in Türkiye's Kayseri. The site has been dated to approximately 7.7 million years ago.
Since 2018, with permission from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, digs have been carried out around the dam located on the Kızılırmak River in the Kocasinan district, under the Kayseri Museum Directorate. The excavations are supervised by professor Okşan Başoğlu and professor Pınar Gözlük Kırmızıoğlu.
The site has revealed a rich variety of fossils, including giraffes, elephants, mammoths, rhinoceroses, three-toed horses, bovids (such as sheep, goats and antelopes), turtles and pigs. This diversity has drawn significant scientific interest.
Anthropologist Ömer Dağ, part of the excavation team, noted that fossil deposits are dense in the Yamula Dam area, especially in locations like Çevril, Taşhan, Hırka and Emmiler. After surface surveys, the team has focused on excavations in areas with concentrated fossils.
Dağ explained that their priority is to recover large fossils first: “When we see fossils exposed on the surface, we quickly begin removing them. The current site, called the main layer, contains clusters of intertwined fossils we refer to as ‘intestines.'”
He emphasized the significance of their discoveries, explaining: “In 2019, we found a specimen older than the mammoth – commonly mistaken as its ancestor, the elephant. The fossils are remarkably complete and large. Each year, the site surprises us with different species, such as a pig skull found last year. These fossils may have been dragged here or resulted from a mass death event, which we are investigating carefully.”
The team, consisting of 12 experts, has also identified fossils of three-toed horses, bovids and rhinoceroses.
Dating the fossils precisely has been challenging in Türkiye, but at Yamula Dam, they used argon dating to refine the age to 7.7 million years for the Çevril locality, with another nearby site dated to 7.4 million years.
“Previously, dating relied on geological or faunal estimates. Our precise layer dating provides a clear geological timeframe for the Middle Kızılırmak Basin, making this site an important reference for future paleontological studies,” Dağ said.
