Sign with the US coat of arms found during excavations of an ancient Turkish castle amazed archaeologists

Archaeologists excavating in Turkey at the 3,000-year-old Zerzevan Castle, a site once used as a military settlement during Roman times in southeastern Turkey’s Diyarbakır province, were amazed when they dug up a badge depicting the Great Seal of the United States of America .

The excavations, which were first launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Dicle University, the Turkish History Association and some other regional institutions, have unearthed an underground temple of Roman Mithras, a defense tower, a church, an office building, residential buildings, grain and weapons stores, bunkers, rock tombs and plumbing. canals, as well as many of the vital artifacts in Zerzevan Castle today, writes Daily Sabah citing Anadolu Agency.

But not only: Aytaç Koskun, a professor at Dicle University and leader of the excavation team at the site, told Anadolu News Agency that the archaeologists found the badge during their recent excavations.

According to Koskun, the motif depicted on the surface of the badge, discovered at a depth of 125 centimeters on the eastern walls of the Zerzevan castle, was first developed in 1782.

“Early examples of this type of badge or button were used in the US in the 1850s. Since 1902, a symbol similar to this badge has also been used by the US Army. Similar examples were also used during the First World War and belong to the General Service unit,” Aytach emphasized. Koshkun.

He added that the badge bore the Latin inscription “E Pluribus Unum”. “This is the first official slogan of the United States. This slogan, written in Latin, means “Out of many, one.” It was used to denote the union of the 13 colonies that make up the United States,” the Turkish scientist explained.

“On the right paw of the eagle depicted on the badge, an olive branch is depicted, on the left – a tightly stretched bundle consisting of 13 arrows. It is known that these symbols represent “the power of peace and war,” he said.

“On the eagle’s beak is a scroll with the inscription “E Pluribus Unum”. The shield, located on the breast of the eagle, representing the states, indicates the unity of the federal government. A bright constellation of 13 stars was used above the eagle’s head.

“The discovery of this copper-zinc alloy badge in the Zerzevan fortress is quite interesting and exciting,” Koskun said, adding that, according to their research, no such finds have been found either during archaeological excavations in Turkey or abroad.

“Similar examples have only been found in the US and UK. Upon closer analysis, it turned out that technology developed after the 15th century was used. The analysis also showed that the badge had lain underground for about 250-300 years, starting from the 18th century,” – he noted.

“Early examples of this type of badge or button were used in the US in the 1850s. Since 1902, this badge-like coat of arms has also been used by the US Army,” he said, stressing how surprising it is to find such an item, which probably dates from the founding period of the United States.

Zerzevan Castle is located in Turkey on a 124-meter rocky hill in a strategically important place between the ancient cities of Amida and Dara. Due to its location, the castle towers over the entire valley and controls a large area along the ancient trade route.

The history of Zerzevan Castle dates back to the Assyrian period (882-611 BC). During the Roman period, the main military settlement was built and was in continuous use until 639 BC, when Islamic armies conquered the area.

The territory of the castle is also included in the temporary list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The castle houses the Temple of Mithras, which still preserves traces of the rituals of the Mithraic religion. According to some conspiracy theories, some members of famous American families visited the temple and performed unknown rituals here.