ISTANBUL, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Turkish archaeologists have unearthed a set of 1,500-year-old knives in the ancient city of Hadrianopolis, located in the northern province of Karabuk, revealing a tradition of livestock farming, the head of the excavation team announced Friday.
"We discovered the set in the kitchen section of a structure known as the 'Bathhouse Complex'," said Ersin Celikbas, a scholar from the Department of Archaeology at Karabuk University. The artifacts, found in approximately 250 fragments, were meticulously restored in a laboratory to regain their original forms, he added.
Celikbas emphasised that finding the knives as a complete set provides crucial methodological data regarding ancient social life. "The presence of these tools in the same location indicates that the inhabitants of the complex were engaged in animal husbandry, corroborating existing archaeological data from the Late Roman and Early Byzantine periods," he noted.
The discovery also includes a "kosure" stone -- a local type of whetstone that has been famous since the Ottoman era. Celikbas stated that the find proves the stone's usage for sharpening blades dates back to the 5th or 6th century AD, much earlier than previously recorded.
"This discovery proves that livestock farming has been the region's economic backbone for 1,500 years, stretching from ancient Hadrianopolis to modern-day Eskipazar," the professor added, highlighting that the site was once home to families dedicated to these activities.
Excavations, which first began in 2003, continue in Hadrianopolis, an important settlement site from the Late Chalcolithic to the Early Byzantine periods. ■
