Turkish-Islamic period tombstones to be transferred to digital memory in 6 years

The Golden Age of Archaeology Exhibition, which opened last week at the Presidential Library, features 485 artifacts unearthed for the first time, as well as a restored version of a soldier's tombstone that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan saw during his visit to the Troy Museum.

Bülent Gönültaş, Deputy Director General of Cultural Heritage and Museums at the National Library, made a statement to an AA correspondent regarding the tombstone and the Turkish-Islamic period excavations.

Gönültaş said that one of the most important works in this exhibition is a tombstone from the Ottoman period, which has a beautiful story, and that this work was one of the biggest factors underlying the development of the project.

Gönültaş, stating that the artifact in the exhibition belonged to a soldier who was martyred on the first day of the Gallipoli Naval Battles on March 18, 1915, and that it was discovered during fieldwork, said, "When the tombstone was discovered, it was taken to the Troy Museum, and our President saw and examined it during his program at the Troy Museum. When our colleagues read this tombstone, it was determined that it belonged to Halim Efendi, son of Hüseyin, an officer candidate who was martyred at the Dardanos Bastion on March 18, 1915."

Gönültaş said that upon receiving this information, they created a special exhibition area for the tombstone of martyr Halim Efendi in the Gallipoli Campaign section on the top floor of the Troy Museum, and that they contacted the surviving family members of the martyr to inform them of this information and invite them to the museum.

Bülent Gönültaş noted the following:

We developed a project on Turkish-Islamic period tombstones. The project aims to read, document, restore, and preserve all Turkish-Islamic period tombstones found in our region, create a digital archive, and then pass this on to future generations with a massive collection. To make the project more efficient and facilitate these readings, we provided training courses in Ottoman Turkish to our experts working in our museums. The project was launched, infrastructure work was completed, software programs were developed, and our expert instructors and teams began working in Istanbul, Tokat, Denizli, and Diyarbakır, which we designated as pilot locations. We anticipate completing this pilot implementation in its testing phase by the end of this year and the entire project within six years. We aim to document and preserve this cultural heritage of our generation, and to pass it on to future generations with a beautiful collection.

Gönültaş said that they will initially carry out this project within the country's borders, and that their ultimate goal is to include tombstones from the Turkish-Islamic geography in the project in the future.

Gönültaş stated that excavations belonging to the Turkish-Islamic period have intensified over the last 20 years with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Presidency, and explained that expert teams have focused on Turkish-Islamic period studies in many areas, especially Ani, Malazgirt Castle, Karacahisar Castle, and Silifke Castle, and that new studies have been added to existing studies.

Gönültaş said, "We aim to uncover the legacy our ancestors left to these lands archaeologically, open them to visitors through landscaping and restoration, and introduce this cultural heritage to our citizens. Our project will continue to grow."

Bülent Gönültaş invited citizens and history enthusiasts to see the Golden Age of Archaeology Exhibition, which will be open for six months and consists of 85 percent of the works exhibited for the first time.