22.10.2026 10:45
During the 2026 excavations at the Ancient City of Troy in Çanakkale, a bone flute approximately 2,800 years old was found. The flute, belonging to the Archaic Period, became the first and only musical instrument recovered at Troy in over 160 years of excavation history. A 4,500-year-old anthropomorphic sculpture head was also unearthed around the Troy II city gate during the excavations. The discoveries were announced by Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
Two finds from different periods at Troy have provided new data on the cultural and art history of the ancient city. A sculpted head from the Early Bronze Age and a bone flute dating to the Archaic Period have carried traces of the symbolic world and musical culture of the societies that lived here into the present.
During the Troy excavations carried out by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism within the scope of its Heritage for the Future Project, a bone flute approximately 2,800 years old and a human-shaped sculpted head approximately 4,500 years old were found. The flute has been recorded as the first and only musical instrument recovered in the more than 160-year history of Troy excavations. Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said they had reached direct archaeological evidence concerning the musical culture at Troy and announced details of the two discoveries on his social media account. In his post, Minister Ersoy used the following statements:
"We are contributing to Troy's thousands-of-years cultural and art history with two new discoveries. During the 2026 excavations, which we are carrying out with the permission and support of our Ministry within the scope of our Heritage for the Future Project, we have brought to light a bone flute approximately 2,800 years old and a human-shaped sculpted head approximately 4,500 years old. The bone flute from the Archaic Period is the first and only musical instrument found to date in the more than 160-year history of Troy excavations. With this discovery, we have reached direct archaeological evidence concerning the musical culture at Troy. With the sculpted head found around the Troy II city gate, we have also brought to the present a new work that will contribute to our understanding of the symbolic world of the Early Bronze Age and cultural interactions in Western Anatolia. We will continue to research these finds, which document different periods of Troy, with scientific methods and to protect them and pass them on to future generations. I thank our excavation team, the teams of our General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, and all my colleagues who contributed to the work."
THE FIRST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT FOUND AT TROY
The approximately 2,800-year-old bone flute uncovered in the Archaic Period settlement fill is important as it is the first and only musical instrument found at Troy to date.
In the Archaic Period, dated to approximately 750–480 BC, music was among the important elements of social and public life as well as religious rituals. The new find provides direct archaeological evidence for the existence of musical culture at Troy during this period.
The preservation of the head section attached to the flute's body contributes to evaluating the structure and function of the artifact. The difficulty of musical instruments made from organic materials surviving to the present also increases the importance of the find.
Among the wind instruments of the period was also the syrinx, also known as the pan flute, formed by bringing together bone or reed pipes of different lengths. Some wind instruments were associated with the cult of Dionysus and the rituals connected with it.
A 4,500-YEAR-OLD SCULPTED HEAD FROM THE CITY GATE
The human-shaped sculpted head found during work around the Troy II city gate dates to approximately 2500 BC. The Early Bronze Age artifact provides new data for research into Troy's culture in this period and the symbolic world of Western Anatolia.
Small-sized human-shaped figurines are among the characteristic finds of the archaeology of Western Anatolia in the 3rd millennium BC. Similar examples previously found at Troy, as well as figurines recovered at different centers in the region, are important for studying production and use traditions as well as cultural interactions.
In the Troy II period, dated to approximately 2500–2300 BC, the city was one of the centers where connections between Anatolia and the Aegean world intensified and where development occurred in terms of architecture and material culture. The new sculpted head will contribute to understanding the social and cultural structure of this period.
THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF LIFE IN TEN LAYERS
Troy's settlement history extends from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC to the 13th century AD. During this process, ten main settlement layers have been identified at the city.
After the destructions at the end of the 12th century BC, the region experienced a period of approximately four centuries for which no written sources exist. From the 8th century BC onward, Troy again became an important cultural and sacred center in connection with Homer's epics.
The sculpted head and bone flute found in the 2026 excavations contribute to the city's multi-layered history as two new artifacts documenting different periods of Troy. The finds also make it possible to research Troy through the beliefs, arts, and ways of life of different societies and the relations between Anatolia and the Aegean world, as well as through Homer's epics and the Trojan War.
The work carried out with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism aims to document, protect, and transmit Troy's cultural heritage to future generations using scientific methods.