Carbonized seeds dating back 2,600 years have been discovered in an oven unearthed during excavations at the ancient city of Daskyleion, on the shores of Lake Manyas in northwestern Türkiye’s Balıkesir province. The site bears traces of many civilizations that once ruled Anatolia.
Excavations at the ancient city, located in the Ergili neighborhood and dating back 3,000 years, began in 1954 and continue under the leadership of Kaan Iren, a professor in the Department of Archaeology at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University.
This year’s excavations began in July and are being carried out with support from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Balıkesir Governor’s Office, Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality, Manyas Municipality and Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University.
Archaeologists investigating the dietary and culinary habits of the city’s inhabitants have focused their work on an area known as the “Lydian Kitchen.”
Using small, delicate tools, the team uncovered additional ovens in the area. The excavations yielded einkorn, emmer (a type of hulled wheat), common wheat, six-row barley, broad beans, bitter vetch, chickpeas, peas, lentils, grass pea and grape seeds.
A pit in the bedrock where large quantities of seeds were found was identified as a storage area for grain.
The discoveries shed light not only on where food was cooked but also on how ingredients were stored, which plants were consumed and how kitchens functioned in daily life around 2,600 years ago.
Yeşim Kirman, an expert archaeologist on the excavation team, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that this year’s excavation season is nearing its end.
Kirman said the excavations in the Lydian Kitchen had been particularly rewarding, with objects found seemingly untouched and still in their original places.
“We carried out excavations in the pantry section of the kitchen this year. During the work, we discovered another oven, bringing the total number of ovens uncovered to seven,” she said.
Kirman explained that excavating the soil inside the oven had yielded fish bones, bird bones and seeds from foods consumed by the inhabitants. Laboratory analysis was used to identify the types of seeds and determine their age.
The team recovered a variety of seeds, including wheat, barley, chickpeas and lentils, from a layer inside the oven, Kirman said.
“We found these seeds in a carbonized state. They have been preserved underground in this form for 2,600 years,” she said. “Organic materials are normally very difficult to preserve, but when they are found in a sealed layer, we can recover them.”
Kirman said the Lydians ate many of the same foods people consume today. They cooked their meals in mudbrick ovens, and the finds suggest the kitchen served the city’s upper class.
She added that uncovering these everyday traces of Lydian life had been an exciting experience for the team.
