Archeologists in Troy uncover new traces of links with Anatolian culture

By Burak Akay

CANAKKALE, Türkiye (AA) - Archaeologists at the excavation site of Troy, located in northwestern Türkiye, have discovered a 3,700-year-old domed oven, highlighting the ancient city’s links with Anatolian culture.

“This year's excavations were the first in which we came come across the remains of such a large domed oven,” said archeologist Rustem Aslan, the head of the committee excavating the remains of the city, which date back up to 5,500 years and are today found in the province of Canakkale.

Underlining that Troy was “shaped by Anatolian culture in and after the Bronze Age,” Aslan told Anadolu Agency further excavations would be conducted to uncover the architectural dimensions of the find.

Aslan, who is also an academic at Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, said that Troy’s links with Anatolia were in part established by the findings of German archeologist Manfred Osman Korfmann, who led excavations from 1988 into the early 2000s.

“In previous years, Professor Korfmann defined Troy as an Anatolian culture,” said Aslan, adding that Korfmann was led to this conclusion from the architectural structure of Troy and the emergence of domed ovens, which are commonly found in other contemporary Anatolian sites.

The oldest domed ovens so far found in Troy date back to 2000 B.C., about 300 years earlier than Aslan and his team’s latest discovery.

Aslan said architectural developments in Troy, where formal archeological excavations have been going on for 150 years, pointed to changes in the city's culinary tradition during the period identified with Anatolian culture.

"The description that Korfmann made during his excavations that 'Troy is Anatolia,' was a major focus of the next 20 years of digging. Troy is an Anatolian culture," he added.

The site of Troy was added to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List in 1998.

*Writing by Sevilay Beki in Istanbul