Gallipoli War badge found at Amida Mound

DİYARBAKIR

A Gallipoli War badge has been found during excavation works at Amida Höyük, considered "the heart of Diyarbakır."

The mound, which has hosted numerous civilizations, including the Hurri-Mitanni, Bit-Zamani Kingdom, Assyrians, Urartians, Medes, Persians, Alexander the Great, Seleucids, Tigranes Kingdom, Romans, Byzantines, Sasanians, Umayyads, Abbasids, Mervanids, Seljuks, Nisanoğulları, Artuqids, Ayyubids, Akkoyunlus, Safavids and Ottoman, has been undergoing excavations since 2018 under the leadership of Professor İrfan Yıldız, Dean of the Faculty of Art and Design at Dicle University.

Excavations have so far unearthed artifacts such as 1,800-year-old water channels and heating systems, burial chambers, 782 hand grenades from World War I, 800-year-old marble fragments and fire layers. Work continues this year in the eastern part of the reception hall of the Artuqid Palace, as well as in the area between Saraykapı and the royal road.

The Gallipoli War badge is stated to have been awarded to soldiers who participated in the Gallipoli land and sea battles and were martyred or became veterans. The badge is the first example of an "Ottoman badge" found in the Amida Mound excavations.

Yıldız stated that the badge belongs to the Ottoman period and emphasized its significance in representing the transition period between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic.

“Original badges like this are very rare, and replicas are more commonly made. This original badge, found during the Artuqid Palace excavations at Amida Höyük, is significant as an Ottoman-era Gallipoli War badge. The badge is 4.2 cm long, 2.7 cm wide and weighs 6 grams. On the front, it depicts two Ottoman soldiers guarding the Dardanelles during the Gallipoli land and sea battles, holding weapons, with backpacks on their backs and a crescent-starred flag rising in the sky. At the bottom, there is the inscription 'Gallipoli War memento' in Ottoman Turkish. On the right side, the date of the enemy's first attack, Oct. 21, 1330 [1914], is inscribed, while on the left, the date of the enemy's retreat from Gallipoli, Dec. 21, 1331 [Jan. 3, 1916], is written."