Exactly one year ago, in September 2019, the Turkish authorities were mobilized after being alerted to illegal excavations in the Göktaş area in the southeastern province of Mardin close to the border with Syria. The gendarmerie teams, as reported by vema.com.au., which were sent to the area located mosaic representations and they notified the competent archeological services.
At the beginning of July of the current year, excavations began, led by the Director of the Mardin Museum, Abdulgani Tarkan, which led to the discovery of rare Early Byzantine mosaics in the ruins of a Christian church (basilica), and, according to inscriptions, it is estimated that it was built in AD 396.
The head of the excavation, Abdulgani Tarkan, told the Anadolu agency that the mosaics showed depictions of animals, geometric shapes and human figures, as well as scenes depicting people hunting, while the words “April” and “June” were written in ancient Syriac.
He also estimated that there was an ancient city of the early Byzantine period in the area while expressing the hope that it would be possible to unearth other architectural remains, apart from the church, in the future.
