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A male skull with the Greek inscription "Pilgrim Dimitrakis" was found during archaeological excavations at the Balatlar Church in Sinop, on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, writes Success in UA.
Balatlar Church or the Church of Sinope Koimesis, whose identity and phases of use can be determined through excavations that began in 2010, is the only building in the history of the city of Sinope whose purpose is known. During the excavations conducted under the leadership of Professor Gülgun Keroğlu, the most comprehensive studies of the Byzantine period were carried out in Sinop.
Excavations revealed that the building known as Balatlar Church was a Roman bath built in the second century. As a result of research, it was established that the complex of baths, which consisted of the Palestra, the Frigidarium, the Tepidarium, the Caldarium and the Laconicum, began to be used as a church at the end of the 4th or the beginning of the 5th century. It is noteworthy that the building was converted into a church in an earlier period.
The skull found in the ossuary of the church has no analogues in Turkey, it is reported arkeonews.net.
Thanks to the examination conducted under the chairmanship of Professor Mustafa Tolga Chirak, head of the Department of Anthropology of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Hittite University, it was possible to discover that the skull belonged to an Orthodox priest who went to Jerusalem to make a pilgrimage.
The skull with the inscription occupies an important place in the world of science as one of the most interesting artifacts, and also as one of the last examples of skull cult in Anatolia. He shows that traditions in Anatolia did not disappear even after thousands of years and continued in different communities, changing their forms.
Professor Dr. Mustafa Tolga Cirak said there is no other example of an inscribed skull in Turkey.
"The historic building is not known among the people as a bathhouse, but rather as a church. It turned into a cemetery in the late Ottoman period from the 17th to the 20th century. Burials were intensively carried out, especially in the garden and inside the church. The church has become a cemetery for the Orthodox," says the specialist.
"The tradition of writing on the skull was not found in Anatolia. Such a specimen was not found in any excavations. However, we knew that there were similar examples in Greece and Egypt, but for us this is an important find because it is the first in Anatolia. The ritual of writing on the skull is one of the important Orthodox burial traditions. According to this tradition, the skull of the deceased is removed from the place where it was found, and then the name of the person is written on the skull with a hard object. Here you can see that the name is neatly written on the skull. After writing, the skull was placed on a shelf in the appropriate part of the church for display. There are examples of this in Greece and Egypt," Chirak noted.
He noted that rituals with skulls were observed until the Neolithic period.
“The practice of preserving and honoring the skull separately from the rest of the skeleton appears to have persisted in various forms throughout prehistoric times, possibly dating back to the early Paleolithic period. It found a place in the Orthodox as a ritual. It was established that the skull belongs to the 19th century. Some archaeological objects and coins found nearby indicate that this person lived in the 19th century," Chirak added.
