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Image Credit: AA Photo
Ancient Silver Necklace Linked to Ishtar Discovered in Turkey
Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Amos in Turkey have uncovered a finely crafted silver necklace bearing a lion figure and an eight-pointed star—an emblem widely associated with the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar. The discovery adds new evidence for the city’s cultural connections and regional importance in antiquity.
The necklace was found at the roughly 2,200-year-old site on Asarcık Hill, near the modern district of Marmaris in southwestern Türkiye. Its iconography points to religious symbolism rooted in the ancient Near East, where Ishtar—also known as Inanna—was a major deity linked to power, fertility, and protection.
Researchers note that such symbols began circulating more widely across the eastern Mediterranean from the 7th century BC, carried through trade, diplomacy, and military interaction. The presence of this necklace suggests that Amos was closely integrated into these exchange networks and functioned as a strategically important port city with strong economic and cultural ties beyond its immediate region.
Ongoing excavations continue to refine understanding of the city’s development and influence. Future work will focus on domestic areas and a major sanctuary within the site, as investigations aim to place the latest finds within the broader history of Amos.
The excavations form part of a nationally supported heritage program in Türkiye and build on earlier research that revealed administrative and economic documents, highlighting Amos’s role as an organized and prosperous urban center in antiquity.
Published on: 30-12-2025
Edited by: Abdulmnam Samakie
Source: Daily Sabah