Ancient Termessos reveals independence, divination inscriptions
Archaeologists have identified inscriptions declaring the independence of ancient Termessos and detailing divination practices at the city’s collapsed gate in southern Türkiye, revealing how the mountain stronghold proclaimed autonomy to visitors and used astragalus bones to guide travelers' decisions.
Digital recovery at the mountain stronghold
Researchers from Antalya Bilim University and Akdeniz University have identified inscribed blocks around the collapsed gate of Termessos, the ancient city perched within Güllük Mountain National Park in southern Türkiye. The stones were rendered legible using digital modeling and advanced imaging techniques. Foreign researchers had documented the gate as standing in the 1880s, though the structure has since collapsed and erosion had rendered the texts unreadable to the naked eye, according to Anadolu Agency.
Mustafa Koçak of Antalya Bilim University stated that one inscription found at the entry point served as a declaration of autonomy visible to all who entered. "May the rights of the independent Termessians last forever," the text reads. Koçak noted that while written sources and coins had already established Termessos as an independent city during the Roman imperial period, this stone announced that status directly to approaching visitors.
Divination practices at the city entrance
The team also uncovered a divination inscription linked to astragalus bones, which travelers threw like dice to receive guidance before departing. The stone includes directives such as "Do not trade today," "Do not go where you intend to go" and "Go where you want to go," offering poetic counsel based on numerical combinations produced by seven bones, a system that generated different responses for each throw, Fatih Onur of Akdeniz University told Anadolu.
"A person coming to the gate before setting out on a journey would throw the astragalus bones, and according to the numbers, expressions such as 'Do not travel,' 'Trade' or 'Do not trade' would be given," Onur said. He added that three such blocks have survived near the gate. The excavations form part of the Culture and Tourism Ministry's "Heritage for the Future" Project, and Koçak said the team aims to restore the gate in coming years so visitors can view the inscriptions as ancient travelers once did.
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