Archaeologists excavating the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ani in eastern Türkiye have uncovered a Seljuk-period food storage facility containing five large ceramic storage jars, providing new evidence of food preservation and commercial activity in the medieval city.
The discovery was made during the 2026 excavation season in the Seljuk Bazaar, one of six areas currently under investigation at the site. The excavation forms part of an ongoing research programme led by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism in collaboration with Kafkas University.
The newly identified storage area contained five pithoi—large earthenware vessels used for storing dry foodstuffs such as legumes. According to archaeologists, the jars offer important insights into storage practices, trade and daily life during the Seljuk occupation of Ani.
Around 100 specialists, including archaeologists, architects, conservators and art historians, are participating in this year’s excavations, which also focus on Seljuk residential buildings, the Seljuk cemetery and an oil mill. Fieldwork began in April and is expected to continue through to the end of the year.
Excavation director Associate Professor Dr Muhammet Arslan said the discovery is not the first storage facility identified at Ani, with similar installations having been uncovered during previous excavation seasons. The repeated presence of such facilities suggests that organised food storage formed an important part of the city’s urban infrastructure.
The pithoi measure more than one metre in height and have openings approximately 50 centimetres in diameter. Manufactured from unglazed terracotta, the vessels are decorated with S-shaped appliqué motifs, a characteristic decorative technique of the period.
Researchers now think the jars were used to store dry agricultural produce, such as legumes, that could be stored for long periods to preserve food supplies.
Sitting in present-day Kars Province near the Turkish-Armenian border, Ani was one of the most important urban centres of medieval Armenia and eventually came under Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman rule. The city became a major commercial centre on regional trade routes and the city is still under reconstruction.
The new evidence adds to the growing archaeological evidence on the transformation of Ani in the Seljuk period and is also an indication of the organisation of food storage within the medieval settlement.
Sources : Arkeolojikhaber
