SHOTLIST:

SANLIURFA, TÜRKİYE (JULY 31, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL)

1. GENERAL VIEW OF HARRAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

2. VARIOUS OF ARCHAEOLOGIST CLEANING NEARLY 900-YEAR-OLD CEREMONIAL CERAMIC VESSEL FOUND AT EXCAVATION SITE / CLOSE SHOTS OF DETAILS FROM CERAMIC VESSEL

3. VARIOUS OF ARCHAEOLOGIST TRANSFERRING DRAWING OF VESSEL TO DIGITAL FORMAT

4. HEAD OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY DEPARTMENT AT HARRAN UNIVERSITY MEHMET ONAL, SEPAKING TO REPORTER (Turkish)
SANLIURFA, TÜRKİYE - JULY 31: A nearly 900-year-old ceramic ceremonial vessel dating to the medieval period has been unearthed during ongoing excavations in Türkiye’s southeastern archaeological site Harran, one of the world’s oldest settlements and a UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List location.

Head of the Archaeology Department at Harran University Mehmet Onal, said the archaeological efforts are being carried out under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's "Heritage for the Future Project" in Sanliurfa province.

Noting Harran’s frequent appearance in history books due to its long history of human habitation, Onal said this year’s excavations have yielded significant discoveries.

He reported that the ceramic vessel, made using the Lustreware firing technique, was found in the area of the Harran Madrasah [Islamic School].

He emphasized that each artifact uncovered in the former scientific center carries considerable historical significance.

According to Onal, this is the first time a vessel made using the lustre technique — a multi-stage firing process — has been discovered intact at the site. Experts believe the vessel was used for ceremonial purposes within the madrasah.

Crafted during the golden age of ceramic artistry, the piece was fired three times to achieve its high-quality finish, showcasing advanced artisanal skill.

The archaeological layer where the vessel was found has been dated to the Zengid and Ayyubid periods of the 12th century. Inscriptions in Arabic adorn both the interior and exterior surfaces of the artifact. A prominent blue inscription in the center reads: “He is the one to whom everlasting honor is granted,” underscoring the spiritual or ceremonial significance of the item.

Harran, a onetime Assyrian and Umayyad capital located 44 kilometers (27 miles) southeast of the city of Sanliurfa near the Syrian border, was an important Mesopotamian trade center on a road running south to Nineveh in modern Iraq, and has been continuously inhabited since 6,000 B.C.

The first excavations in Harran began in 1950.
The site has been on UNESCO’s tentative list since 2000.

Harran is an important ancient city where trade routes from Iskenderun to Antakya (ancient Antioch) and Kargam were located, according to UNESCO’s website.