18.06.2026 15:10
A historic cemetery with a history of approximately 200 years in Erzurum has become a target for treasure hunters. While those conducting illegal excavations damaged one of the graves by digging about 1.5 meters deep, local residents reacted to the situation. Researcher Taner Özdemir, who examined the destruction in the area, said, "Let our dead rest in peace. There is nothing in the graves as rumored."
The incident, which took place in an area 11 kilometers from the center of Erzurum, drew reactions from local residents. Citizens stated that the area known as the old cemetery of Tınazlı neighborhood is constantly referred to as an "Armenian cemetery" by treasure hunters, who search for gold and jewelry in the region. Researcher Taner Özdemir, who examined the destruction in the area, expressed that baseless rumors spreading from ear to ear cause great damage to historical sites.
"LET OUR DEAD REST IN PEACE" Taner Özdemir, speaking at the site of the illegal excavations, said: "We are exactly in the middle between our villages of Yarımca and Tınazlı, and we are faced with interesting graves. Now, we see that many of the stones and grave areas around us have been dug up. The main reason for this is a claim, a rumor, that Armenians buried their gold or valuable items in graves when they left this geography. Many who believe this are busy digging up Muslim graves or foreign graves in the area. Here, one of our graves has been dug up and left as is after being excavated. In fact, this is entirely damage to the graves. Because it is just a rumor, a rumor as the name suggests. There is no truth to it. There are graves both on the other side of the road and on this side. The road was lower before, so the graves were adjacent. But when a road was built here, the graves had to be separated. We have many graves dug up like this both there and here. So please, let's not do this, let our dead rest in peace. There is nothing inside such graves as claimed."