Rare rock paintings found in Türkiye’s north

RİZE

A group of researchers, led by Head of the Department of History at Ondokuz Mayıs University Okay Pekşen, discovered rock paintings of about 3,000 years old during their research in the Northern province of Rize’s İkizdere district. The paintings are thought to belong to the Bozkurt tribes.

Noting that the paintings are rare examples in the world, Pekşen said, “We saw these type of rock paintings for the first time in the Black Sea region.”

Archaeological surface studies that started in İkizdere district in September 2022, and will continue in Çamlıhemşin and Hemşin districts in Rize, also unearthed castle ruins, settlements as well as rock paintings.

Depictions of four unarmed horsemen and tree of life symbols are engraved on four-meter rocks in the dense forest texture of the region.

“We saw the rock paintings made by dyeing method for the first time in the Black Sea. There are some made with the drawing method near Artvin. Rock paintings are usually made in three styles which are dyeing, hitting and drawing. Rock paintings made with the dyeing method are one of the rarest examples in the world. Because the dye can be destroyed very quickly and lost when exposed to climatic conditions too much. Therefore, it is not preferred much. The rock paintings we found are the first known examples in the Black Sea Region. We can see similar examples in the Anatolian geography, not in the open air, but in caves. Apart from this, we come across rock paintings in different styles on a geography of Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan,” said Pekşen.

The mayor of İkizdere, Hakan Karagöz, stated that the work will contribute to tourism in the region.

“I care a lot about this project because historical surface survey of İkizdere has never been done until now. İkizdere came to the fore with the tourism master plan. İkizdere has a very old history; has no sand, sea and sun but has history, culture and geography. This work will make a contribution to tourism. Because tourism loves stories. We will turn from selfie tourism to story tourism. Because people want to see the stories in their original places.”