Museum to display ancient stone artifacts

ERZURUM

Works are underway to present visitors with a new museum that will showcase 500 stone artifacts from the ancient period in the eastern province of Erzurum, which has hosted many civilizations in Anatolia for centuries.

When the idea of creating a museum consisting of stone artifacts emerged in 2016, efforts began to collect artifacts in the region.

Archaeologists unearthed numerous artifacts from several points, including foundations of houses, inside of walls and gardens of village houses.

Estimated to have been founded around 4900 B.C. and bearing the traces of civilizations such as Urartians, Romans, Byzantines, Mongols, Safavids and Ottomans, Erzurum will now preserve stone artifacts carrying the imprints of many more settlements.

“We conducted a project study to evaluate the stone artifacts that we previously identified in the settlement areas within our district. Afterward, by conducting meetings with the provincial directorate of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, we realized the idea of establishing a stone artifacts museum in the area,” stated Muhammed Cevdet Orhan, the mayor of the Aziziye district.

“We will not only carry the stone artifacts from Erzurum’s ancient past to the future but also create an important archival work,” he added.

Orhan also stated that they aim to complete the work in about two months, adding, “It will be a valuable museum not only for Erzurum but also for the whole world.”

He also emphasized that the museum will serve as “a laboratory for research and academic studies of the ancient period of the city.”