29.10.2026 14:18
Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced that approximately 4,000-year-old dog paw prints were found in the Tavşanlı Höyük excavations in Kütahya. The prints on an adobe brick, uncovered in the rubble of a building that collapsed after a fire in the Bronze Age, belong to a dog that walked over the still-wet adobe. Ersoy said, “The paw prints on it preserved a small moment of daily life from four thousand years ago.”
During excavations at Tavşanlı Höyük, dog paw prints were identified on a mudbrick used in the wall of a house. The prints of the dog that walked over the mudbrick left to dry were preserved for approximately 4,000 years.
“WE FOUND THE TRACES OF A PAWED FRIEND”
Minister Ersoy shared the discovery on his social media account with the following words:
“We found approximately 4,000-year-old paw prints at Tavşanlı Höyük. In our excavations in Kütahya, we reached the prints left by a pawed friend on mudbrick that had not yet dried. This mudbrick, found within the rubble of a building that was destroyed after a fire in the Bronze Age, once stood in the wall of a house. The paw prints on it preserved a small moment of daily life from four thousand years ago.”
“THE SMALL AND UNEXPECTED TRACES OF LIFE”
Describing Tavşanlı Höyük as one of the largest Bronze Age cities in Western Anatolia, Ersoy said, “At Tavşanlı Höyük, we are uncovering not only structures and artifacts but also such small and unexpected traces of life. I thank our excavation director, Prof. Dr. Erkan Fidan, who has been leading the work since 2021, and our excavation team.”
TRACES IN WET MUDBRICK WERE PRESERVED ON THE WALL
Mudbricks were prepared by mixing soil, water, and straw and pouring the mixture into molds, after which they were dried in the sun and turned into building material. The paw prints of the dog that walked over the mudbrick found at Tavşanlı Höyük before it had dried became permanent on the surface as the mudbrick hardened.