Archaeologists uncover three elephant skulls dating back 8 million years in Türkiye

2025-09-14 01:42:28

(MENAFN) Archaeologists have uncovered three elephant skulls dating back 7.7 million years in Kayseri, central Türkiye.

The excavation, initiated in 2018 after a local goat herder’s 2017 report near the Yamula Dam, is supervised by the Kayseri Museum Directorate and sponsored by the city of Kayseri.

Situated in the Kocasinan district along the Kızılırmak River, the site has yielded a rich array of fossils, including remains of prehistoric giraffes, elephants, mammoths, rhinoceroses, three-toed horses (ancestors of modern hooves), hornless sheep known as bovids, goats, antelopes, turtles, and pigs.

Archaeologist Ömer Dağ told a news agency that the current season focused primarily on elephant fossils. “We can call this year the year of the elephant,” he said. “Since excavations began in 2018, we had found two skulls. But this year, in just one season, we discovered three.”

Dağ noted that while the tusks were partially damaged, one skull was found with its lower jaw intact.

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