The 2500-year-old wooden burial chamber depicting the war between the Persians and Scythians, found during illegal excavations in the Tatarlı mound in Dinar district of Afyonkarahisar, is on display in the Afyonkarahisar museum.
The wooden burial chamber, one of the rarest wooden artifacts in the world, dates back to the 5th century BC.
The burial chamber was found in the Tatarlı mound in 1969 during illegal excavations and destroyed by looters.
Some of the beams of the burial chamber decorated with root painted figures were cut and smuggled abroad.
The smuggled wooden pieces were brought to Turkey in 2004 with the initiatives of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The artifact, which was restored by German and Turkish experts, was taken out of the special chests where it was kept hidden in 2023 and started to be exhibited in Afyonkarahisar Museum.
Ümit Emrah Kurt, Assistant Professor at Afyon Kocatepe University Department of Art History, told AA correspondent that the wooden burial chamber exhibited in Afyonkarahisar Museum has a story of being smuggled abroad and brought back, just like the Cybele statue.
Kurt gave the following information about the burial chamber.
“As archaeological material, it is difficult for wooden products to survive until today. Since they are organic, they are destroyed very quickly. We are a little lucky in this burial chamber, it has survived to the present day. We can say that it is one of the rare wooden artifacts in the world. There are painted figures in the wooden burial chamber. The fact that there are various scenes related to that period increases its importance even more.”
Kurt stated that the wooden visuals on the beams depict traces of the culture of the 5th century BC, as well as a scene depicting the war between the Persians and Scythians.
Stating that the painted figures on the wooden beams bear traces of the life of that period, Kurt said, “Among the figures is the mythological story of Heracles stealing the winged cattle of Geryoneus. In addition, celebrations and festivities are seen after the victorious war. We see traces of Phrygian and Persian culture in the burial chamber. The wooden burial chamber of the Tatarlı Tumulus is among the most important artifacts of the Afyonkarahisar Museum where it is exhibited.”
Cover Photo: Arif Yavuz/AA
