4,500-Year-Old Mussel Shells Unearthed at İkiztepe: Clues to Bronze Age Cuisine and Trade in the Black Sea Region

Archaeological excavations at the İkiztepe Mound in Türkiye’s Samsun province, ongoing for over half a century, have uncovered Mediterranean mussel shells dating back to the 4th millennium BC. The discovery sheds light on ancient trade routes and Bronze Age dietary habits in northern Anatolia.

A Half-Century of Excavations Revealing a Lost Settlement

Situated in the Bafra district of Samsun, İkiztepe Mound has been under systematic excavation since the early 1970s, making it one of Türkiye’s longest-running archaeological projects. More than 15,000 artifacts unearthed at the site indicate continuous habitation between 4500 and 2000 BC.

Assoc. Prof. Aslıhan Beyazıt of Istanbul University’s Faculty of Letters, who leads the excavations under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s “Heritage for the Future” initiative, emphasized the site’s scientific importance:

“İkiztepe has become one of Anatolia’s richest archaeological laboratories, offering a deep look into prehistoric life,” she said.

Mussel Layers Reveal Prehistoric Dietary Habits

Recent excavations revealed a greenish soil layer filled with mussel shells, which were analyzed at Istanbul Technical University and identified as Mediterranean mussels still consumed today.

According to Beyazıt, these mussels were likely transported with sand from nearby lagoons in the Kızılırmak Delta region:

“This discovery demonstrates that seafood played a key role in the local diet during the 4th millennium BC and highlights the ingenuity of prehistoric communities in food procurement.”

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A Window Into Climate and Social Change

Beyond dietary insights, Ikiztepe has become a multidisciplinary research hub for studying climate change, environmental shifts, and social structures of ancient Anatolia.

“Our ultimate goal is to understand how environmental changes shaped human life and economy,” Beyazıt noted.