En la antigua ciudad de Satala, en el distrito de Kelkit de Gümüşhane en la región oriental del Mar Negro de Turquía, se desenterró un cementerio de legionarios de varias capas excavado en la roca del castillo del Imperio Romano.
Además, también se encontró en una tumba un fragmento de un documento de bronce de 2000 años de antigüedad llamado “Diplomata”, entregado a los soldados romanos que completaron su mandato de 25 años.
Director del Centro de Investigación y Aplicación de Arqueología de la Universidad de Bartın en los últimos días de las excavaciones realizadas por el Profesor Asociado Şahin Yıldırım y su equipo, el cementerio de legionarios, que eran los soldados del Imperio Romano que gobernó Anatolia durante siglos, ha sido desenterrado para la primera vez en Anatolia.
According to historical records, the ancient city, which is located 28 kilometers from the district’s center, was founded as a military garrison by the Roman military legion Legio XV Apollinaris. The ancient city served as a military post and was strategically located at the crossroads of key military routes from Anatolia to Cappadocia and the Black Sea region.
A fragment of a 2,000-year-old bronze document called “Diplomata,” given to Roman soldiers who completed their 25-year tenure, was also found in a tomb. Serving as a strategic garrison during the reign of the Roman Empire, the city was ruled by Assyria, Macedonia, and Byzantine. Satala is also thought to have been visited by Roman Emperors Trajan and Hadrian, and in the 15th century, an aqueduct, or water bridge, with 47 holes was built in the city to bring fresh water to its residents.
Şahin Yıldırım noted that they completed the 2022 excavations in Satala and found a cemetery structure dating to the Roman Imperial period in the last days of their work.
A multi-layered legionary cemetery, carved into the bedrock in the Roman Empire castle, has been unearthed in the ancient city of Satala. “In the photographs of the past years, the remains of a structure drew attention. We found a necropolis during our excavations around it. For the first time, a cemetery belonging to Roman Legionnaires was unearthed in Anatolia. We found many graves here. Most of these tombs belong to Roman soldiers. We found war equipment such as weapons, spears, and arrowheads belonging to these soldiers,” he said.
Noting that they found a person, who was likely a cavalry officer, buried in the main grave in the cemetery, Yıldırım stated that they found a bronze plate, called “Diplomata,” next to this person along with the horse harnesses and terracotta artifacts.
“Diplomata was a document given to Roman Imperial soldiers after completing their military service. We can call it a kind of discharge certificate. The piece of diplomata we found was severely damaged. We could not find its written part but we found its back part. Almost all of the tombs were carved into the bedrock and the skeletons were inside them. A significant part of the finds we found date back to the third century. These are the dates when the Roman Empire lost its former glory and began to weaken. At the same time, this cemetery is a multi-layered cemetery. We have also obtained similar findings dated not only to the Roman period, but also to the Byzantine period and even to the years 607-608, the period when the Sassanids seized this city for the second time. It is not just a single-layer cemetery. It is very important that this diplomata was found here. During the Roman Imperial period, soldiers had to serve 25 years. When this period is over, these documents were given to them,” he said.
Yıldırım stated that for the first time in Anatolia, they obtained important data about both the city walls, the plan type, and the structures inside the city walls of a legion castle, and continued:
“So far, not much data has been obtained about the Roman-era castrum structure, which hosted the 15th Apollinaris Legion. Castrums were the main bases and encampments of the legions in the Roman Empire. During the excavations last year, we uncovered some of the walls, but these walls were mostly medieval. However, during our work this year, we found the entrance gate of the castle, which is known to have been built during the reign of Emperor Hadrianus of the Roman Empire. Thus, for the first time in Anatolia, we have obtained important data about both the city walls, the plan type and the structures inside the city walls of a legion castle.”
En el área de excavación se descubrieron cerámicas hechas a mano y hallazgos del período helenístico, además de armaduras militares, numerosas puntas de flecha, máscaras de teatro, lámparas de aceite, monedas estatales romanas y ladrillos del período romano tardío con el sello de la legión XV.
Source: 2st.qirdar.com
