'Pharmaceutical production area' discovered in ancient city

TEKIRDAG

The ongoing excavations have brought to light a “pharmaceutical production area” supported by a water source in the Thracian Ancient City of Heraion Teikhos in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ, an archaeologist has announced, calling it a “scientifically important" discovery.

"Heraion Teikhos is a Thracian City, the first Thracian settlement in our country where excavations are still being carried out, and the only excavation site that yields Thracian finds,” Professor Dr. Neşe Atik said while referring to the ongoing excavations being carried out by Istanbul Rumeli University.

"Our excavations have two goals: The first is to protect this settlement and to bring it to cultural tourism, and the second is to introduce it to the scientific world. After one year of excavations, inventory and publication studies of small finds such as terracotta pots, metal finds and coins were carried out in the excavation,” she said.

Atik stated that the aim of the excavations is to identify pharmaceutical production areas, the size of which is not yet known, and how the water was transported.

“Water systems in hilltop settlements were usually built with large water cisterns in ancient times. The 2023 excavations at the Heraion Teikhos settlement yielded findings indicating that water was transported not from cisterns but from an area a few kilometers to the east of the excavation site, which is still wooded today. In addition to this, a new pharmaceutical was unearthed in the west of the settlement. Terracotta pipes connecting the pools and stone channels also revealed that there was a pharmaceutical production area spread over the entire excavation area,” Atik said.

“The fact that the medicine ovens and the clean water system and pools required for medicine making were located close to each other in the same areas is scientifically important since it is the first time they have been identified archaeologically,” she concluded.