Lost Letter of Roman Emperor Caracalla Found in Turkish Farmhouse Walls

Latin inscription. Credit: Robert Moranelli / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Authorities successful Turkey person halted the demolition of an abandoned farmhouse successful the southwestern state of Burdur aft experts discovered marble blocks carved with inscriptions from a mislaid missive by Roman Emperor Caracalla.

The Burdur Museum Directorate intervened erstwhile experts recovered respective marble blocks embedded successful the structure’s walls. Earlier directives had already placed the stones nether authorities extortion arsenic taste heritage, requiring them to beryllium handed implicit to the authorities for preservation.

The farmhouse, built successful the 1950s successful Yarışlı village, was constructed utilizing marble blocks hauled by cart from the adjacent past metropolis of Takina. Ten of these stones person been reported by Turkish sources arsenic bearing Latin substance from an imperial decree issued by Emperor Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus — amended known arsenic Caracalla — who ruled the Roman Empire betwixt 198 and 217 CE.

However, a person introspection of 2 stones reveals the beingness of letters specified arsenic Π, utilized lone successful Greek and not successful Latin alphabet, arsenic good arsenic the Greek sanction ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΣ (DEMETRIOS) written successful Greek.

Burdur'da 1950 yapımı bir evin inşasında kullanılan taşların, Roma İmparatoru Carcalla'nın mektubu olduğu ortaya çıktı. pic.twitter.com/ojM15vxe8B

— Haber (@Haber) October 28, 2025

A hidden imperial decree rediscovered

Archaeologists archetypal alerted the depository successful 1970, but caller decipherment revealed that the inscriptions signifier portion of a mislaid imperial decree sent to Takina astir 1,800 years ago. Researchers judge the slabs erstwhile belonged to a nationalist monument, specified arsenic a metropolis gross oregon administrative building, that displayed the emperor’s connection for section citizens to read.

Takina, located connected Lake Salda successful the past portion of Pisidia, had heavy Greek roots earlier becoming portion of the Roman Empire. The metropolis flourished nether some Hellenistic and Roman rule, blending Greek civic traditions with imperial administration.

Burdur'da bir evin duvarında kullanılan taşların, Roma İmparatoru Caracalla'nın 1800 yıllık mektubu olduğu ortaya çıktı. pic.twitter.com/un586DvoP6

— Boşuna Tıklama (@bosunatiklama) October 28, 2025

Researchers accidental the decree’s show connected marble followed a Greek customized of inscribing authoritative messages successful nationalist spaces — a signifier that continued nether Roman governance crossed Asia Minor.

Greek power successful Takina was evident successful its architecture, temples, and necropolises, galore built successful the classical benignant agelong earlier the Roman conquest. Under Roman rule, these cities retained their Greek quality portion serving arsenic administrative centers of the empire, often producing bilingual inscriptions successful some Greek and Latin.

The villagers who guarded history

“These stones were brought by villagers from Asar Hill, and the location was built by my father-in-law,” longtime nonmigratory Ferhat Ağıl explained. “Twenty-two years agone a missive came from the depository saying, ‘If the location is demolished, bash not suffer these stones; they are entrusted to you.’”

📍 Burdur'da bir evin duvarında devşirme olarak kullanılan taşların, Roma İmparatoru Caracalla'nın 1800 yıllık mektubu olduğu ortaya çıktı.

Günümüzde kullanılmayan evin duvarlarında yer alan 10 adet taş Burdur Müze Müdürlüğü tarafından belgelenerek takibe alındı. Müdürlük… pic.twitter.com/ASNVcsqs2K

— arkeolojihaber ® (@arkeolojihaber) October 30, 2025

Ağıl said the marble blocks were carried by cart due to the fact that fewer villagers owned tractors astatine the time. The mud-brick farmhouse, strengthened by the past marble, adjacent survived a 1971 earthquake, Yeni Şafak reported. Though uninhabited today, its walls inactive carnivore Caracalla’s words — a uncommon endurance of an imperial connection hidden successful plain sight.

Preserving the mislaid words of an emperor

The Burdur Museum Directorate confirmed that guards volition proceed protecting the tract until the stones are safely removed for study. Experts program to transportation the inscriptions to the depository for preservation and further analysis.

Archaeologists judge the find could shed airy connected however imperial decrees were distributed and displayed crossed Roman Anatolia. They anticipation aboriginal excavations successful and astir Takina volition uncover further fragments of Caracalla’s mislaid letter, offering a fuller representation of connection betwixt the emperor and his distant provinces.

What began arsenic a demolition has present turned into a uncommon archaeological rescue — uncovering a dependable from Rome’s past, inactive echoing done the stones of a forgotten Turkish farmhouse.