Archaeologists working on an ancient Thracian site in Tekirdağ (Turkey) said they have unveiled part of an ancient city named Heraion Teichos, which is thought to date back to 2000 BCE. The excavation team of Mimar Sinan University's Archaeology Department has been working to unearth the ancient city, located near Tekirdağ's Karaevli village, for the last six years.
     Head of the excavations, Associate Professor Neşe Atik, said that sources of information on the Thracian civilization are very scarce. "Looking at the remains we unearthed from the region, we believe this area was a health facility around 2000 BCE, when Thracians inhabited the region. As a result of the excavations, we saw that they were very successful in producing golden and silver accessories, pottery and textiles," she said. "Considering the fact that numerous pieces of imported pottery from the fifth and third centuries BCE were unearthed during excavations, and that the city had a huge fortress, we can understand that Heraion Teichos was a wealthy seaport city," she added.
     Atik said they were hoping to get more information on the lifestyle of Thracians in upcoming excavations and that they were also aiming to open the ancient settlement site for tourism.

Source: Turkish Daily News (19 July 2006)