Eating habits of Lydians discovered in old building

BALIKESİR

In a building unearthed during excavations in the ancient city of Daskyleion in the northwestern province of Balıkesir, some tools and food remnants related to the culinary culture and eating habits of Lydians have been found.

The head of the excavations, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Archaeology Department Professor Kaan İren told state-run Anadolu Agency the excavations had been ongoing since 1954 in Daskyleion, which is located in Hisartepe on the shores of Lake Manyas. 

“This year, a team of 35 persons including academics, researchers and students from various universities are working for this year’s excavations, which started on July 2 and will be finished on Sept. 9,” he said. 

İren said a kitchen dating back to the seventh century was discovered in 2016 and inside were lots of pits used as storage and for religious purposes. 

İren said the kitchen had burned twice in the sixth century. 

“The structure is surrounded by walls nearly two meters high. It shows us that the building was too high. Maybe state officials stayed in the building. We have discovered the two- or three-storey building burned twice and collapsed in the seventh century. The building has various sections. We have found many pots and pans and food remnants. We analyze them to bring the broken parts together. This way, we will have information about the culinary culture and eating habits of the Lydians, at least in this region,” he said. 

The professor said they have also organized social responsibility projects in the region. 

“We organize such projects every year, especially for women and children. We try to raise historical, social and cultural awareness. We organize theaters and plays,” said İren. 

Establishing parks for cycling and walking between the Manyas Bird Paradise and Daskyleion would be very useful for tourism, he said. 

“I wish Lake Manyas would be used more carefully and carefully in this sense. We are trying to make Daskyleion more visually aesthetic so people will show monuments and structures in their memories and photographs,” said the professor.