More than 100 fossils found at Yamula dam

KAYSERİ

Numerous animal fossils, estimated to be 7.5 million years old, were unearthed in the excavations around Yamula Dam, built on the Kızılırmak River in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri.

Stating that this year's excavations were very productive, Anthropologist Ömer Dağ expressed: “We have over 100 fossils. As always, this year's fossils mostly consist of three-toed horses and giraffes, but our most valuable find this year is a beautiful pig skull. It is a rare example, something we don’t find often. That’s why it is precious to us. Especially since it’s a complete skull, it has become a very important discovery for us."

"Türkiye is a very rich geography in terms of fossil density. Paleontological excavations are actively ongoing in different cities. There are also beautiful discoveries in those areas, but this place is different. What makes this region special is that the preservation of the fossils is very good. You can discover multiple examples, and the specimens you find are almost complete. For instance, the pig skull was intact. During my student years, we used to find pig fragments, but they were always partial. Finding a complete skull here is very valuable,” he added.

Dağ mentioned that the pig skull differs from today’s pigs, drawing attention to the preservation of the fossils in Kayseri. “The pig skull will be analyzed in the laboratory and species identification will be conducted,” he added.

Noting that the fossil specimens discovered also drew attention abroad, Dağ said: “This year, we had an elephant expert from Finland. He worked here in previous years and returned this year for further research. This shows how valuable this place is. Experts don’t come just once; they want to return multiple times because the diversity and number of findings are so vast that it is not possible to finish the work in a single visit. That’s why we have hosted foreign experts several times.”

Dağ said they were also working on "reconstructing" the fossils for the Paleontology Museum, which is under construction, adding: "While we complete the conservation work on our original fossils, we are also continuing the reconstruction process with molds taken from here. We try to show our visitors what the morphology and size of the animal were like.”