If you’re thinking about livestreaming an illegal excavation near a Turkish castle, think again. Turkish authorities take a dim view of such activities, even if you stumble upon a 2,000-year-old mosaic dedicated to the ancient Greco-Roman concept of luxury and decadence.
Recently, law enforcement in Zile, Turkey apprehended four individuals, including a father and son, for allegedly engaging in unauthorized excavation. The group not only livestreamed their dig but also shared videos of it on social media. The arrests took place at the Zile castle, located approximately 150 miles south of the Black Sea. The area is renowned for the Battle of Zela in 47 BCE, where Julius Caesar famously uttered, “Veni, vidi, vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”) after defeating Pharnaces II, the ruler of Pontus.
Besides its historical significance, Zile served as a vital commercial and trading center for the Roman Empire and is currently the site of a legal excavation at a nearby theater. The trespassers tried to unearth and possibly remove a 95-square-foot floor mosaic situated about 220 yards away from this lawful project. According to Turkiye Today, authorities caught the group attempting to conceal their actions under sacks.
Photographs reveal that the top portion of the circular mosaic is missing, while the bottom half prominently features a bust of Tryphe (ΤΡΥΦΗ in Greek). While sometimes described as a blend of luxury and elegance, Tryphe also represented an ideology of excess, extravagance, and flaunting wealth. Its verb, tryphao, means “to live luxuriously,” and Tryphon was even used as a royal title during the Ptolemaic dynasty.
The concept of Tryphe persisted into the Roman Empire, as evidenced by the recent discovery in Zile. Speaking to the Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency, Murat Tekin, the head of the ongoing theater excavation, suggested that the find provides further insights into the cultural richness and prosperity of the Roman city.
“This mosaic likely relates to the ruins in the lower city of Zile. The city was known for its ancient theater, castle, stepped tunnel, rock tomb, and the Sakaia Festival,” explained Tekin, noting that the festival’s legacy continues today with the annual Zile Fair.
Further analysis is required to precisely date and evaluate the mosaic, but Tekin believes its discovery will expand the excavation’s scope and aid in contextualizing Zile’s history.
For decades, the Turkish government, historians, and archaeologists have been combatting the illicit trade in antiquities. Earlier this year, a group was arrested for possessing a smuggled medieval mummy. In 2022, a single operation resulted in the apprehension of 162 suspected smugglers across 38 provinces. During the raid, dubbed “Operation Heritage,” a truck was found loaded with 1,736 stolen artifacts destined for a British auction house.
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