Looted Tombs Investigated in Eastern Turkey

ERZURUM, TURKEY—Hurriyet Daily News reports that researcher Ömer Faruk Kizilkaya is investigating a heavily looted settlement dating to the Iron Age in eastern Anatolia. Tombs carved into the rock of a cave, a water tunnel, and a temple have been found near the settlement. Kizilkaya thinks the tombs may have been reserved for the elites of the community, such as rulers of the Urartu Kingdom and religious leaders. Haldun Özkan of Atatürk University explained that similar rock tombs have been found in the region. Such tombs were often made with several smooth-walled chambers for use in the afterlife. Kizilkaya has asked Turkey’s Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism to protect the site and others in Erzurum. To read about another discovery made in Turkey, go to “Let a Turtle Be Your Psychopomp.”