1,800-year-old iron mask of Roman soldier discovered in Turkey

By: MRT Desk

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Descubren en Turquía una máscara de hierro de soldado romano de hace 1.800 años

A 1,800-year-old iron mask, made to protect the face and head and undoubtedly belonging to a Roman soldier, was found in north-central Turkey. The find was made during excavations of a fortified structure in the ancient city of Adrianople (now Edirne), also known in the past as Caesarea and Proseilemmene, in the province of Karabuk.

Adrianople, founded in the 1st century BC, was one of the largest settlements in the region until the 8th century AD. Explored since 2003, archaeologists have discovered 14 structures there, including a walled building in which the cavalry helmet or mask was now found.

“We assume, from the fortification wall, that it is a military structure”, said to Gazet Global the archaeologist Ersin Çelikbaş, from Karabuk University.

Specialists from the Department of Archeology of this university also highlighted that these discoveries account for the influence of the Roman Empire in the western Black Sea region in the early 3rd century AD

After the excavations in that ancient city, famous for the mosaics on the floors of its churches and for the confluence of the Geon, Phison, Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the small finds are taken to the museums of the surrounding provinces, while the immovable they are kept in place.

Experts suggest that a military base was established in Adrianople with the aim of achieving “a frontal defense zone that would avoid all kinds of dangers from the east and the Black Sea”, so this would be “one of the most important defensive cities of Rome“.

Çelikbaş admitted that, although important data have been found confirming the presence of the Roman Empire in the area, “the history of the inland areas of the western Black Sea region has not yet been fully clarified.”

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