Skulls, seals unearthed in Turkey

Archeologists have unearthed two skulls dating from 1,500 BC and two 8,500-year-old seals in one of the oldest residential areas of Anatolia, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported Sunday.

Found in the Yumuktepe tumulus in south Turkey’s Mersin province, the skulls belonged to the Hittite period and the seals dated back to the Neolithic period, Italian Prof. Isabella Caneva, head of the excavation team at the tumulus, told Anatolia.

The seals were rare in Anatolia and among important findings unearthed in Turkey so far, Caneva was quoted as saying. Systematic excavations for the Yumuktepe tumulus first started in 1936 under the supervision of British archeologist John Garstang and have been conducted by a team presided by Caneva since 1993, according to the agency. An 8,000-year-old skeleton was found in the Yumuktepe tumulus early in August and this year’s excavation will be completed on September 3.

ZINHUA