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Turkish archaeologists have found evidence of an imperial Roman garrison in the ancient city of Adrianople, near modern-day Eskipazar in the northern Turkish province of Karabük, uncovering a fragment of an iron mask believed to have been worn by cavalrymen in the Roman army around 1 years ago.
Excavations of the ancient city of Adrianople, which began in 2003, revealed 14 different structures, including two church buildings, two baths, rock tombs, a theater, an arched dome structure, city walls, villas, a monumental niche and other monumental buildings, as well as a square the defensive structure in which the mask was found.
Excavation leader Dr. Ersin Çelikbaş from Karabük University explained that the structure in which the mask fragment was found was probably used for military defense by the Roman garrison. "Behind the fortification wall in the building, we assume it is a military structure," he told the Turkish newspaper Gazette Global. "An iron mask was found here during excavations."
"It belongs to the imperial period," he added. "It most likely dates to the 3rd century if we look at similar examples and layering."
The headdress appears to follow the contours of the wearer's face, with holes for eyes. Similar headdresses of Roman cavalrymen have been found before, such as the Nijmegen helmet on display at the Valkhof Museum in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. However, according to the Daily Mail, such helmets were not used in battle, but in cavalry sports, where cavalrymen honed and demonstrated their skills.
Adrianople, located in the northern Turkish province of Karabük, bordering the Black Sea, was a position of great strategic importance to the Romans. A military presence there would help defend against invasions from the Black Sea. The ancient city was first inhabited in the first century BC and remained one of the largest settlements in the area until the 8th century AD.
"The history of the internal regions of the Western Black Sea region has not yet been fully clarified," Chelikbash explained. "We continue to illuminate the history of the region through our research."
"During the excavations, we obtained important data that indicate the existence of the Roman Empire in this region."
"Rome planned to make its defense on the periphery of the regions of the empire, building positions against all kinds of dangers that could come to its territory from the Black Sea," he added. "We believe that Adrianople is one such defensive military city."
