In the excavations of the ancient city of Tenedos, a children’s cemetery was discovered

In the tourism center of Bozcaada district, visited by nearly 50,000 local and foreign tourists in the North Aegean Sea of Çanakkale every year, numerous children’s graves were identified during the excavation works conducted at the necropolis area of the ancient city at the end of the year 2023. It was determined that children who died at an early age were buried in cube graves, amphora graves, and stone-built graves with burial gifts.

The excavations of the ancient city of Tenedos were conducted by a team of 12 people under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Turan Takaoğlu, a faculty member of the Department of Archaeology at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums. The excavation works in the 2023 season were first carried out at Bozcaada Castle and then at the necropolis area of the ancient city, revealing new data, especially related to child burials.

Among the child graves excavated, a particularly intriguing example was discovered within a pithos or cube grave dating back to the 6th century BC, where a second cube grave was later placed in the 4th century BC. Inside the later-made cube grave, six baked clay figurines and a bronze needle shaped like a horse’s foot were placed as burial gifts. Generally associated with the cult of the ancient Greek festival god Dionysos, these figurines depict two dancers wearing Eastern costumes with Phrygian caps, a woman playing the lyre musical instrument, and three standing women. Placing dancer and musician figurines in a grave is considered an archaeological indication of reaching and uniting with the god through dancing in a trance-like state, reflecting the beliefs of the time. The excavation findings were subjected to restoration and conservation processes by Dr. Çilem Yavşan, a member of the Tenedos Excavation team, and after the excavation season, they were delivered to the Troy Museum Directorate.

Deputy Excavation Director Prof. Dr. Ömer Can Yıldırım, emphasizing that the Tenedos excavations were carried out with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, stated, “In 2023, our excavation works were conducted at Bozcaada Castle and the Ancient Necropolis Area, revealing a previously unknown area designated as the burial site for children, particularly during the excavations in the Necropolis area. The graves identified in this area, defined as Pithos graves, showing pithos features inside the pithos, have provided new data previously unknown in archaeological literature. The general burial practice here reflects the first burial process in the 6th century BC, and then approximately 200 years later, in the 4th century BC, during the Late Classical Period, a second burial process was observed. The second burial, represented by six artifacts, stands out with baked clay figurines and a bronze needle. The findings obtained during the excavation in 2023 were delivered to the Troy Museum Directorate in Çanakkale,” he said.

Prof. Dr. Ömer Can Yıldırım also noted that, as a result of the studies conducted in the ancient cemetery area of Tenedos in 2023, a burial tradition designed in the form of a pithos was discovered, containing baked clay figurines and a bronze needle inside the pithos grave. He stated, “When we look at the general characteristics of the artifacts, the clothing styles, goddess motifs, and the prevalent beliefs and the respect for children buried at a young age during this period are indicative. From a historical perspective, these artifacts, with their stylistic and analogical features, indicate that they were produced approximately 2,700 years ago and placed in the grave of a child who died at a young age. Two of the artifacts, referred to as dancer oklasma forms, stand out. The clothing types on the artifacts suggest an association with the Phrygian culture and the cult of Kybele, in addition to the Dionysos cult. These typological features reflected by the artifacts provide us with significant data in understanding the cultural characteristics of Tenedos Necropolis during the Late Classical Period,” he concluded.