Children’s Toys Among Roman-Era Artifacts Unearthed At Ancient City Of Beçin Turkey

Conny Waters – MessageToEagle.com – Today many modern parents visit shops to buy toys for children. Ancient people also wanted their kids to have something fun to play with. Our ancestors produced various types of toys for their children and some of these ancient objects truly remarkable.

An animal-figured toy unearthed in the ancient city of Beçin in Muğla, southwestern Turkey, Oct. 12, 2020.  Image credit: AA

Many ancient toys like dolls, balls to play with, or small cars have been uncovered in archaeological excavations.

For example, there is an amazing Stone Age toy car that a child most likely played with. The artifact was unearthed during excavations in the Kiziltepe district of the southeastern province of Mardin, Turkey dates back to about 7500 years ago. We also write about other similar remarkable toys that were used by children in other ancient cultures.

By investigating ancient artifacts, we gain a better understanding of our ancestors’ beliefs, culture, and knowledge that shows people in the past were not as primitive as some thought.

Now, artifacts including toys and coins have been found during excavations at the 5,000-year-old ancient city of Beçin in southwestern Muğla province’s Milas district, and as Kadir Pektaş, head of the excavation project told to Anadolu Agency (AA), the finds shed light on the socioeconomic and cultural life of the era.

“Sculptural toys with particularly dense animal figures, mostly from the Roman era, were unearthed during excavations. The objects are an indication of the rich and vibrant socio-cultural life of that period,” Pektaş said, as cited by Daily Sabah.

Toys, rings, bracelets, necklaces, and coins belonging to the Hellenistic, Ottoman, Roman, and Byzantine periods were discovered in the ancient city, which was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List in 2012.

The archaeological site in Beçin has been excavated systemically since 1972 and in 2000, a hoard of coins, 60,000 of which are from the Ottoman period, was found in Beçin.

Diverse findings shed light on the 700-year history of the city. Kadir Pektaş who also led earlier excavation seasons said that the ceramics, which were unearthed in 2018 in the ancient city’s historical street, were produced by local people.

“In some of the glazed and unglazed ceramic plates, dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries, we found the ‘signature of ateliers’ and found important clues about the exports and imports in that period. They were used in daily life. The signatures on the plates show that an important part of ceramics was produced in Beçin and around,” Hurriyet Daily cited the researcher.

At the ancient site of Beçin, the archaeologists unearthed the ceramic bowls, metal jewelry, arrowheads, coins, and a ceramic toy.

“The findings show the Anatolian culture to us. Among the ceramic findings, we found toys for children. We found only one toy in the previous years, but this year we got the others…. They reveal everything about the social structure in the Middle Ages. The glass findings are very important. After their restoration, some of them were delivered to the Milas Museum,” according to the researcher.

The ceramics found at the ancient site had natural human and plant compositions, and shed light on people’s eating and drinking habits as well as their entertainment culture.

A few pieces that were imported from Europe and these particular findings reveal the existence of imports during that period and give important clues about the Middle Age and the commercial life there.

Written by Conny Waters – MessageToEagle.com – AncientPages.com Staff Writer