Archaeologists have discovered ancient medicine production in an ancient temple in Turkey.

More than 2 thousand years ago, Thracian tribes created pharmaceutical products

“Pharmaceutical production” dating back 2,800 years was discovered in an ancient Thracian city in Turkey. Archaeologists made this discovery during excavations of the only surviving city of Thrace. Pipes were laid there and an interesting water supply system was created, which remains a mystery to scientists.

Archaeologists have discovered a “pharmaceutical production zone” supported by a water source during ongoing excavations at the Thracian ancient city of Herayon Teichos in Turkey. It is extremely important because it is the only Thracian city excavated in Turkey.

In recent years, scientific evidence obtained from archaeological excavations proves that Herayon Teichos was inhabited from the third millennium BC to the 13th century AD.

Let us recall that in 2021, a group of researchers from Istanbul Rumeli University excavated a 2800-year-old temple in the ancient Thracian city of Herayon Teichos in Turkey. Now, a water supply system has been discovered leading to a space inside the temple that researchers call an “ancient pharmaceutical manufacturing facility.”

Professor Dr. Neshe Atik told Hurriyet Daily News: “Heraion Teichos is a Thracian city, the first Thracian settlement in our country where excavations are still underway, and the only place where surviving finds have been found.” Atik said the excavation aims to determine the pharmaceutical production area, the size of which is still unknown, and how water was transported.

Archaeologists explain that in ancient times, water supply systems in hilltop settlements were usually built from large water tanks.

Excavations in 2023 at the Herayon Teichos settlement yielded results indicating that water was not supplied from cisterns, but from an area a few kilometers east of the excavation site, which is still covered in forest today. In addition to this, a new “pharmaceutical factory” was discovered in the west of the settlement – terracotta pipes connecting the pools and stone channels also showed that pharmaceutical production was located throughout the excavation area.”

“The fact that the medicine ovens, the clean water system and the pools needed for medicine preparation were located close to each other in the same areas is important from a scientific point of view, since this is the first time they have been identified archaeologically,” she concluded.

The Thracians were a group of tribes known for their rich culture and fearsome warriors who flourished in Southeastern Europe as early as 2000-1500 BC.

The Thracians are best known for their magnificent metalwork, especially gold and silver, and for people like the legendary Spartacus, who was their descendant. Their culture, intertwined with Greek and later Roman influences, made significant contributions to the development of classical antiquity, but it remains shrouded in mystery due to the lack of written evidence.