03.11.2026 15:20
In the Kartepe district of Kocaeli, a person who was taking soil from a neighbor's garden to put in pots came across bone remains under pieces of roof tile. The remains, said to possibly date back to the Roman period, were taken to a museum for examination.
Erol Tandoğan, who works in excavation, began taking soil two days ago from his neighbor's garden on Reşit Bey Street in Acısu Neighborhood to fill pots. While working, Tandoğan examined a tile fragment that came out from under the soil and noticed bone fragments beneath it. After Tandoğan reported the situation to the 112 Emergency Call Center, police and archaeology teams were dispatched to the area.
Samples were taken from the pieces in the tile-covered area, which is considered to possibly date to the Roman Empire period, accompanied by archaeologists and security measures. The pieces removed by the teams were taken to the Kocaeli Museum Directorate for examination. It was learned that security measures were taken in the area and that teams were working there.
"WE SAW A BONE FRAGMENT"
Erol Tandoğan, who stated that he has lived in the neighborhood for 53 years, said that he notified the authorities when he saw the remains he encountered. Tandoğan, explaining that he had previously worked in the same area but had not come across any historical remains, said the following:
"I work in excavation jobs. We had also carried out excavation work here 3 years ago. Two days ago, we started working here again to take soil for pots. While digging, a tile fragment came out. We could not remove it from its place; we had to break it. When we broke it, we saw a bone fragment underneath. Then we immediately called 112. We called our village headman. Teams came to the scene. Archaeology teams also came to the area. They said it could be a grave. This place remained under police surveillance for 24 hours. In the morning, the relevant teams carried out excavation here. We do not know what it is; they took them, bagged them, and took them away."
Tandoğan, stating that he had not encountered a similar situation in previous excavation work, said: "When I did excavation here 3 years ago, we had not encountered anything like this either. This place was like a mountain, as you know. We did not encounter any historical remains, a tile fragment, or anything that would indicate historical remains."