#Bronze Baptismal Bucket

[xtruss]

World: Archaeologists in Turkey have Identified Massive Structures Below a Roman-Era Castle

— September 1, 2023 | By Peter Kenyon, Gokce Saracoglu | NPR.Org

Ruins of housing believed to have been used by soldiers stationed at the garrison. Alice Martins for NPR

Diyarbakir Province, Turkey 🇹🇷 — As part of what was once ancient Mesopotamia, Turkey has long been fertile ground for archaeologists. It's home to significant sites that even predate Mesopotamia — UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Gobekli Tepe, a Neolithic settlement believed to be more than 10,000 years old with what may be the world's oldest place of worship, and Catalhoyuk, a proto-city dating back some 9,000 years.

Now, more recent sites in the country's southeast are yielding finds that archaeologists say may change modern understanding of this part of the world's past, moving the footprint of pre-Roman activity in the area farther east than was previously believed.

Zerzevan Castle, the site of a Roman Empire military garrison, is providing what UNESCO calls "important information about the Roman soldiers, civilians' daily lives and the battles."

And then there's the Mithras Temple. The Mithras religion — also known as the "Mithras cult" — is believed to have originated in ancient Persia, and the temple, discovered in 2017, is possibly the best-preserved such temple in the world, says UNESCO.

Yet to be excavated are huge, multistory structures that archaeologists have identified thanks to ground-penetrating radar scans. These remain below ground and are revealing layer upon layer of artifacts, some dating back well into pre-Roman history.

A local family visiting Zerzevan Castle archaeological site. Alice Martins for NPR

Archaeologist Aytac Coskun, seen at ruins of an ancient church, says excavations in the area may continue for another three decades. Alice Martins for NPR

Sitting near an ancient church built on a hill high above the temple, Archaeologist Aytac Coskun says the first time he saw the place, he knew he had to excavate.

"I first came to Diyarbakir in 2005," says Coskun, "and when I saw this hill, I saw some pieces of artifacts, and I knew no excavation had been done before. So as soon as I saw it, I knew it had to be a dig because there must be something significant underneath."

Underground Residential Areas May Have Sheltered 10,000 People in Wartime

A tour of the site reveals some what he and his team have excavated in recent years — a sprawling rock altar, an underground church, a water canal stretching for at least several miles.

A member of the Zerzevan Castle excavation and restoration team looks into a microscope while studying a coin found at the archaeological site. Alice Martins for NPR

A Bronze Baptismal Bucket found at the Zerzevan Castle site, currently on display at the Archaeology Museum of Diyarbakir. Alice Martins for NPR

Coskun and his team have unearthed objects including a beautifully preserved and ornately decorated Roman-era bronze baptismal bucket and an Assyrian-era stamp, a kind of official seal carved into rock, that could date back some 3,000 years.

"The digging we're doing inside the castle walls is 57,000 square meters [68,171 square yards]," he says. "It's a huge area. And outside of it...is (something) like 10 million square meters [3.86 square miles]."

Coskun believes some 1,500 people, both military and civilian, lived here during times of peace. In wartime, he says, it's likely that some 10,000 people from the surrounding area came here to seek shelter.

An Inscription seen at the entrance of the Mithras Temple which remains undeciphered. Alice Martins for NPR

Ruins of the Church seen from the south tower. Alice Martins for NPR

That, he says, may help explain the expansive underground living areas. So far, he says they've excavated six residential complexes inside the castle walls, and there are 99 more still below the surface.

That's just one reason Coskun says this site has the potential to change modern understanding of this part of the world and its archaeological and architectural history.

"It's totally open to new discoveries, that's for sure," he says. "We don't know what else we'll find. We've only dug around 10% of the area on the surface within the castle walls. And beyond the castle walls," he adds, "you see more living areas, the canal, a necropolis where the leading families buried their dead, and ceremonial areas. So, there will be more to come."

Excavations, he says, could continue for another 30 years.

The entrance to the Mithras temple seen from inside. Alice Martins for NPR

[warsawmountain]

Church Janitor Shoplifter

An unexpected jolt of electricity, a rapturous rural light: Old books, used books, strange books, discarded books within strange, forgotten side streets of beguiling city. & above, drunken fireflies in night sky.

The first time my rubber-soled shoes squeaked down the marble-floored hallways, within the towering presence of downtown, an uncanny gravity

Fear my own making; vigilant for security @ corner stores located upon intersections chattering, buzzing Kensington streets.

Pink & yellow buildings brighten a passing stranger in a pastel scarf, and a deep, warm wind, God in the faces of the drunks walking along Macleod Trail

Nocturnal journeys, feet silently fall onto familiar cobblestone wander thru the winding back alleys, glittered w/ dumpsters trekking to the glow of the bookstores, stacks of volumes with colourful hardback covers, enticing written words waiting to be stolen.

slipping a slim volume of verse from a shelf, wrapping with my coat and scurrying,

In my pocket a pen taps away, beating a drum to a private rhythm: Pick useless locks, get around muted alarms, sneak unto the unheard,

Secret-coded language, take mental snapshots with a shopping trolley stuffed full of handouts & pamphlets thrumming with evangelical desperation.

On borrowed time, steps swift, in silent contemplation sharp, metallic; overpowering taste of fresh paper. The way the lights lit up the aisles, sounds of advertisements and ringing write-ups of new merchandise in the background.

Courage & daring in unexpected places, heavy vanilla incense & candle smoke, homecooked dinner & heady aromas wafted from kitchen windows sneaking away in suburbs.

The seed of faith, always within me, waiting to bloom. uncertainty in the swirling Chinook breeze sanctuary in the laughter of elementary children,

Rain-soaked pavement and burnt cigarettes fills my lungs, carried by the winds from the west. The sea to the west proudly tossing waves against the shore and sending foamy gifts inland to the city at my feet. urban creation in mid-autumn.

Scrub great stained glass window, illuminated the towering spires outside, golden slates upon the rooftops:

The endless rows of spruce trees, the Queen Elizabeth II Plaza bathed in neon lights, the Olympic Plaza filled with the nomadic two-step with bare-footed street dancers at midnight with a mechanical charm, shaking plastic cups and rattling rusty tambourines in rhythm.

Come morning, I wake to clean air, soft silk to the touch, muscles scrubbing, wiping, sweeping, the strangers heads bowed and hands clasped as they intone ancient hymns, and the knowing kindness in someone's gaze.

the sharp sting of the incense, the comforting warmth of the sun, the tolling of bells, and the voices of people in conversation.

The distinct smell of a thousand years of rites and rituals, inhaled an ancient air of stories and secrets with my brush and broom survey the full length of the cavernous space— the hovering gilt-bronze lamps at one end, a musty stairwell.

ceaseless stillness cloaking the building in ancient net. clean & restore the slowly-erased away— dusting the ancient coffins in crypts, polishing the old wood pews in sanctuary, hauling buckets of refuse into the alley. holy rites, an unknown agent unknowingly stumbled inside.

Between the last of the bars, a shimmering hundred foot torrent cascades down the side of a mountain a pool of cool, clear water.

Oil lamps hang, casting shadows against the rocky walls, engulfing w/ a warm amber hue.

Couples wade into the water, submerging in the cooling liquid baptism emerging, reborn, one can almost imagine.

At the end, evening tomorrow, ready to fill my pockets with all the poems I could possibly fit, to read and appreciate and maybe even understand. Take a step closer, drink sweet wordless water.