Faculty Member at University of Bologna in Italy, Prof. Dr. Nikolo Marchetti who leads the excavations in the ancient city of Carchemish, located in the border district of Carchemish in Gaziantep, informed that the ancient city was a major city of the Hittite who ruled Anatolia and Mesopotamia in 2 thousand BC. Stating that important information on Carchemish Kingdom was brought to daylight, Marchetti said that they can add new pages to the history in the light of these discoveries.
Nikolo Marchetti underlined that cubes used as coffins during that period in the city’s necropolis, terra cotta containers for human ashes, vases, ornaments were uncovered and said, “We discovered various cubes, containers in the necropolis. The most interesting one is a jug with a smiley emoji dating back to 1700 BC. This jug was used to drink sherbet. It is probably the world’s oldest smile. We do not know for what purpose the craftsman who made the jug drew this but we identify it as a smile.” Marchetti added that the emoji jug, along with other finds, will be handed over to the Gaziantep Archaeological Museum.
Leave a Comment