2800-year old ancient seeds discovered in eastern Anatolia, to be resurrected

Posted By: Dattatreya Mandal September 5, 2016

Haykaberd (or Çavuştepe in Turkish) is an archaeological site in Van Province in Turkey’s Eastern Anatolia region, known for its ancient 8th century BC fortifications and royal palace of the Urartian kings. But this time around, beyond ramparts and walls, archaeologists are interested in seeds. Originally discovered in 2014, from the Çavuştepe Castle that was constructed by Urartian King Sarduri II (circa 8th century BC), these batches of wheat and sesame seeds are almost 2800-years old. And now the researchers are looking forth to resurrect these ancient specimens inside a laboratory environment.

Professor Rafet Çavuşoğlu (Archaeology Department) from the Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, said –