Historian archives artifacts from treasure hunter networks

Melike Çalkap - ISTANBUL

An ancient history expert, who stumbled upon clandestine Meta groups where treasure hunters shared photos of their findings, is archiving the images and information shared, striving to protect these invaluable items from being lost or destroyed.

Mete Öztürk, who graduated from the History Department at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in 2020 and completed his master’s in ancient history at the same institution last year, discovered these groups during his graduate studies.

“Towards the end of 2021, I found these groups,” Öztürk recalled. “The publication of photos of some previously undiscovered historical artifacts caught my interest and excited me.”

Most shared items in these groups are inscriptions, which treasure hunters often damage in their quest for gold. “Some treasure hunters would break inscriptions in the hope of finding gold or other valuable metals,” Öztürk explained. “They shared these inscriptions in the group to see if the writings indicated any treasure.”

Recognizing the threat to these artifacts, Öztürk began to analyze and archive the photos to prevent them from disappearing. He also informed the Culture and Tourism Ministry, providing details of his findings. “I sent many photographs to the ministry and filed complaints. The ministry said that the matter was being investigated.”

“Many of the artifacts I have achieved have pickaxe and shovel strokes on them. Some are completely broken,” he noted.

Currently, Öztürk has photographs of 97 inscriptions in his notebook, detailed with their Greek or Latin content.

“The majority of these are grave and votive inscription photos and screenshots and plans to file a second complaint with the Culture and Tourism Ministry.”

Öztürk is a member of eight such groups, each with hundreds of thousands of members. “Since the groups are not open to everyone, they ask some questions about adhering to the group rules when becoming a member.”

According to the law, a person deliberately damaging such cultural assets could face up to five years in prison.