Archaeologists working at the ancient city of Hadrianapolis in Karabük province, northern Türkiye, have uncovered a 1,750-year-old pithos burial, officials said.
The discovery was made in Eskipazar district at Hadrianapolis Ancient City, a settlement used during the Late Chalcolithic, Roman and Early Byzantine periods. Excavations and restoration work are being carried out under the direction of professor Ersin Çelikbaş, head of the Archaeology Department in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Karabük University.
Inside the large storage jar used as a grave, researchers found a human skeleton along with a range of burial offerings, including seven ceramic vessels, an oil lamp, a coin, a knife and two bone hairpins.
Çelikbaş said the pithos burial provides important new data for understanding funerary practices in the region. He noted that such burials had not previously been documented in surface surveys or excavations in the inland parts of the western Black Sea region, suggesting the find may be the first of its kind there.
The coin found in the grave was identified as belonging to Roman Emperor Probus, who ruled from A.D. 276 to 282. Researchers said the coin helps date the burial to the late third century A.D.
Çelikbaş said the presence of pottery, particularly examples of so-called Pontic Sigillata ware, a type of fine red slip ceramic common in the Black Sea region, was also significant. Similar vessels were found across much of the excavation area, he said.
The bone hairpins suggest the individual buried in the pithos may have been female, researchers said. All artifacts have been cataloged for further study.
Researchers said continued analysis of the findings is expected to shed light on burial traditions at Hadrianapolis and contribute to a better understanding of ancient funerary customs in the region.
