New finds from the ancient settlement of Türkmen-Karahöyük in central Türkiye are shedding light on two very different moments in the site’s long history. The excavations are co-directed by James Osborne, Associate Professor of Anatolian Archaeology at the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, and Michele Rüzgar Massa of Bilkent University, and Deputy Directory Huseyin Erpehlivan of Bilecik Seyh Edebali University.
James Osborne Co-Leads Discovery of Rare Luwian Seal and Christian Amulet at Türkmen-Karahöyük
August 13, 2026
Inside a copper box, we found an extremely thin gold sheet, only 0.1 millimeters thick, most likely carrying a passage from the Bible. It belonged to a small child. We can think of it as something like a nazar boncugu, a traditional evil-eye charm
Among the discoveries is a stone seal dating to approximately 1500–1400 BCE and inscribed in Hieroglyphic Luwian. The inscription records the name Kurunti-ziti along with an official title. Found together with other evidence of sealing and administration, the object adds to a growing picture of Türkmen-Karahöyük as an important political and administrative center during the Late Bronze Age.
A second find comes from a much later period in the settlement’s history. Archaeologists recovered a small copper container dating to the fourth or fifth century CE that held an exceptionally thin sheet of gold. Preliminary study suggests that the gold may bear a biblical passage and that the object was probably worn or carried as a protective Christian amulet.
Separated by nearly two thousand years, the two discoveries illustrate the remarkable longevity of Türkmen-Karahöyük and the changing communities that occupied the site. Ongoing work by Osborne, Massa, and their colleagues is helping reconstruct the settlement’s role in the political, social, and religious history of central Anatolia.
Türkmen-Karahöyük from the northwest
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Additional reporting on this find can be found in the following articles: