Human skeleton found in ancient city of Misis

ADANA – Anadolu Agency

AA Photo

Excavations in the ancient city of Misis (Mopsuestia), located in the southern province of Adana, have revealed a human skeleton, which is estimated to date back to 3,000 years ago.

Known as the “immortal city,” the ancient city has been excavated under the scope of a project initiated by the Yüreğir Municipality.

When working on a castle from the early Islamic era, the excavation team unearthed a new finding. A detailed examination of Professor Giovanni Salmeri of Pisa University and Professor Anna Lucia D’Agata of the National Research Council at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient Mediterranean revealed that it was in fact a human skeleton.

The skeleton was removed during a one-week work by the team and taken to the excavation house for analysis.

Salmeri said they had found remains from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, early Hittite, Roman and Byzantine eras in the 7,000-year-old city. “We believe this skeleton will provide us important data about the ancient city of Misis,” he said.

Salmeri also said the skeleton would be analyzed by a specialists coming from Italy in two months. “The results will tell us the gender, genetic structure and age of the skeleton, as well as how this person died,” he added.