01.07.2025 17:21
The area where excavation work was initiated following the discovery of fossils by a goat herder near the Yamula Dam in Kayseri in 2017 has been dated to 7.7 million years ago.
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Since 2018, fossil excavations have been carried out around the Yamula Dam, located in the Kocasinan district built on the Kızılırmak River in Kayseri, with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, under the leadership of the Kayseri Museum Directorate, and with the scientific consultancy of Prof. Dr. Okşan Başoğlu and Prof. Dr. Pınar Gözlük Kırmızıoğlu.
FOSSIL DIVERSITY IS STRIKING Over the years, the region has attracted attention with its fossil diversity, including animals such as giraffes, elephants, mammoths, rhinoceroses, three-toed horses, a type of hornless sheep called bovid, goats, antelopes, as well as turtle and pig fossils.
"WE ARE OBSERVING DENSE FINDS" Ömer Dağ, an expert anthropologist participating in the excavation work, stated that a large number of fossils have been found around the Yamula Dam. He noted that there are fossil finds in the localities of Çevril, Taşhan, Hırka, and Emmiler, and expressed that they are excavating in areas where fossils are dense after surface studies.
Dağ explained that their priority is large fossil pieces, saying, "If there is a visible image on the surface, we quickly start working and prioritize removing those fossils. The removal of a fossil completely depends on its size. The point we are currently at is actually the point we call the main layer, where fossils are coming in densely. We are observing dense finds of what we call intestines in two different points." he said.
"THIS PLACE SURPRISES US EVERY YEAR" Emphasizing that the fossils extracted from the area are remarkable, Dağ continued: "When we first came here, large examples known as megafauna emerged due to the rise and fall of the dam water. In the first year, we primarily focused on the removal of those fossils. In 2019, we found an example that is older than the mammoth, which is known as the ancestor of the elephant. The completeness and size of the fossils are particularly striking. Also, our diversity is very high.
We have discovered examples of very different species. Last year, a pig skull was found. This place surprises us every year; we expect various different species. Fossils may have been dragged here, or a mass death may have occurred. We are identifying it by uncovering the top here."
Dağ stated that they have observed fossils belonging to three-toed horses, a group called bovid, and rhinoceros fossils in the excavation area, and that they are trying to bring these to light with a team of 12 people.
"DATED TO 7.7 MILLION YEARS AGO" Dağ conveyed that there have been difficulties in dating in paleontological excavations in Turkey, but they have solved this with layer aging in the excavations around the Yamula Dam, stating: "When we say 7.5 million years, geological aging had been done. Now we have done layer aging with a method called argon. Currently, the locality we are in Çevril is 7.7 million years old. Hırka village is a locality dating back to 7.4 million years. We did layer aging to give a precise year. By taking samples from both the lower and upper limits of the layer where the fossil is dense, we clarified the aging of these areas with the method we call argon.
In general, geological aging or faunal aging was done for dating. The work we have done here has become a reference for most paleontological excavations. With these age determinations, they will now attribute the point we call the Central Kızılırmak Basin to these age determinations. Because no aging had been done in other fossil excavations. The biggest reason for that was the lack of layers. Here we have both our layer and our finds are very dense.
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