Ancient pendant found at Hadrianopolis

KARABÜK

Excavations at the ancient city of Hadrianopolis in Eskipazar, Karabük — a settlement from the Late Chalcolithic, Roman, and Early Byzantine periods— have revealed a stunning pendant amulet bearing the image of the Prophet Solomon.

The excavation and restoration work is being carried out under the leadership of Associate Professor Ersin Çelikbaş, a faculty member at the Department of Archaeology at Karabük University, as part of the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Legacy for the Future Project.

The ancient city, renowned for its mosaics depicting various animals on church floors and referred to as the "Zeugma of the Black Sea," has so far yielded structures including two baths, two churches, a defensive structure, rock tombs, a theater, an arched and domed building, a monumental cultic niche (a recess in the wall), walls, villas, other monumental buildings and certain sacred sites.

Recently, an amulet pendant from the fifth century A.D., depicting the Prophet Solomon, was discovered during excavations.

Çelikbaş explained that work on the project continues in the ancient city. Noting that significant finds were found, saying, "One of them was uncovered this week during the excavation of the structure we named ‘SDJ-3.’ We believe it is a significant artifact for Anatolian archaeology since no similar examples have been found in this region before. It is actually an amulet pendant."

Describing the features that make the object important, Çelikbaş said: "The depiction shows the Prophet Solomon on horseback, spearing a demon. Why this depiction? Because the Prophet Solomon is important in all three major religions. He is noted as a ruler in Judaism and the Bible and in Islam, he is recognized not only as a ruler but also as a prophet. Therefore, the depiction of the Prophet Solomon, important in monotheistic religions, on this pendant both surprised us and showed us its importance for Anatolian archaeology."

Çelikbaş noted that the inscription on the pendant reads "Our Lord has overcome evil" and said: "Why was this pendant, this amulet, found here? In fact, it has to do with the military character of Hadrianopolis. We have previously identified evidence of a cavalry unit here through archaeological finds."

A similar find revealed in Jerusalem

Çelikbaş pointed out that Prophet Suleiman's interest and devotion to horses were well-known and said: "Solomon is also known to have been a commander of armies. Therefore, we understand that he was depicted here as a protector of the cavalry during the Roman and post-Roman Byzantine periods at Hadrianopolis.”

Emphasizing the importance of the artifact, Çelikbaş said: "The front depicts the Prophet Solomon and mentions the God’s triumph over evil, while the back bears the names of our four holy angels: Azrael, Gabriel, Michael and Israfil. This is also very significant. No similar artifact has been found in Anatolian archaeology to date. Only one comparable example in terms of depiction has been found in Jerusalem. The appearance of two similar artifacts over such great distances indicates that this area was an important religious center in antiquity. Based on the fonts of the inscriptions and stratigraphic data from our studies, we date the artifact to the fifth century A.D."