A monastery built during the Roman Empire and a 1,500-year-old mosaic were discovered in western Turkey when security forces seized two suspects in illegal excavations.
Brigades of the Turkish gendarmerie, acting at the behest, began the operation in the mountains, where there is no way to move by car in the Aliaga area of Izmir province.
The suspects were detained while trying to remove the historic remains at a depth of about 2 meters from the ground.
Later, experts from the Izmir Archaeological Museum explored the region, and the area was taken under protection.
After initial research, the mosaic will be sent to the museum.
Hunkar Kesser, director of the Izmir Archaeological Museum, told Anadolu that the team arrived in the region following a report from the Turkish gendarmerie.
“We found a mosaic on the floor. This place was used as a monastery and there was a basilica, “Keser said.
According to the group, the monastery was used between the fourth and fourteenth centuries, Kesser said that the mosaic is very valuable from an archaeological point of view.
“It is located in a place where it can be approached by tractor from the roadway. It is a universal cultural heritage and a rare artifact, “he said.