Treasure hunters explode ancient rock tomb

ANTALYA

Treasure hunters have exploded the entrance of a 2,500-year-old rock-cut tomb, one of the six ancient sepulchres in the Elmalı district of the southern province of Antalya.

“These are cultural heritages, we must protect them to leave to the next generations,” Durmuş Altan, an archaeologist, told Demirören News Agency on Oct. 6.

According to Altan, who is also the head of the provincial directorate of cultural and social affairs, there are six rock tombs in the neighborhood.

“Four of them are from the Lycian period,” he said and added: “Today’s Armutlu was in the territory of the then Lycia Kingdom.”

“The meticulous cut of the rock tombs shows that there was once a genuine settlement in the area,” he added.

But the latest state of the rock tombs is not pleasant. Doomed to their destiny, the rock tombs were damaged with writings on them.

Treasure hunters recently flattened the entrance of a rock tomb with explosives, the archaeologist noted.

“They think they can find sculptures or gold here in the region. These people unfortunately damage the cultural assets,” he added.