Free Republic

Türkiye Today reports that a 1,500-year-old set of four iron knives of varying sizes and a whetstone were discovered at the site of Hadrianopolis in Turkey's Black Sea region. Ersin Çelikbaş of Karabük University said that the knives and the sharpener were uncovered in the kitchen section of an area of the city known as the Bath Structure Complex. Although the knives were recovered in pieces, they have been restored and reassembled. The knives were likely used to process locally raised animals, Çelikbaş explained. Analysis of the whetstone revealed that it was sourced from a nearby quarry and shows that...

Archaeologists found two game pieces believed to have been used by Roman soldiers more than 1,600 years ago... The excavation team, led by Dr. Ersin Çelikbaş, found the lens-shaped pieces adorned with unique engravings—a four-armed symbol on one and an eight-armed sign on the other. "These engraved symbols probably helped the player determine the strategy of their pieces," Çelikbaş explained. The markings suggest that the pieces were used in games that entertained soldiers while also serving as tools for military training.Çelikbaş stated that the game pieces were most likely used for Duodecim Scripta, which is similar to backgammon, or for...