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Archaeological excavations at Asarkale in the Bafra district of Samsun have revealed cisterns, a temple, a stepped tunnel, and other significant structures, offering new insights into the region’s ancient past.
Asarkale, a fortress built by Pontus King Mithradates VI Eupator, has been the focus of excavations since last year. Supported by Samsun Governorship, the Metropolitan Municipality, and Bafra Municipality, the project is directed by Kenan Surul, head of the Samsun Archaeology Museum.
The site, overlooking the Kizilirmak River, was strategically located to control trade routes and farmland. The excavations show that while the fortress itself was built in the Hellenistic period, the site’s history stretches back much further.
According to Associate Professor Kasim Oyarcin of Ondokuz Mayis University, who serves as the project’s scientific advisor, the team has so far uncovered two cisterns, a prison, a furnace, a stepped tunnel, command rooms, and other spaces used within the fortress. He explained that work is ongoing to trace the tunnel’s exit.
Oyarcin emphasized that initial expectations dated human presence at the site to the era of the Pontic kingdom. However, the discovery of an open-air sacred temple has changed that understanding. The temple, which dates to the 5th century B.C., predates the fortress by about four centuries and is contemporary with the Paphlagonian Rock Tombs situated along the Kizilirmak River.
Findings from the site also shed light on the fortress’s turbulent history. Oyarcin noted that following the defeat of Mithradates by the Byzantine Empire, the fortress remained abandoned for a long time. Later, it was reoccupied during the Byzantine era and continued to be used in the Seljuk period.
The excavations have also yielded large quantities of projectiles, arrowheads, and coins. “Due to a fire, nearly 150 projectiles were recovered in burnt condition,” Oyarcin said.
Hasan Dikmen, head of Bafra Archaeology and Ethnography Museum, explained that the excavation began with vegetation clearance and has already revealed much of the architectural layout of the fortress within one year. He added that restoration works on the fortress walls are scheduled to begin next month, starting with temporary reinforcements to prevent collapse of the unearthed structures.
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