Researchers working at the ancient Greek city of Termessos (Greek: Τερμησσός) in modern-day Turkey have identified two Greek inscriptions that are shedding new light on the city’s political identity and ritual life in antiquity.

Located in the mountains of ancient Pisidia near modern Antalya, Termessos was part of the wider Greek world that emerged across Anatolia during the Hellenistic period. Perched more than 1,000 meters (aprox. 3,000 ft) above sea level, the city is renowned for its dramatic landscape, well-preserved ruins, and long association with Alexander the Great.

The discoveries were made during ongoing studies at the site inside Güllük Mountain National Park, one of the eastern Mediterranean’s most striking archaeological landscapes.

Inscription proclaims civic independence

Researchers identified one inscription on a heavily weathered section near a collapsed city gate. They made the text readable using digital modeling and modern documentation techniques.

According to researchers, the inscription contains a phrase that may be translated as: “May the rights of the independent Termessians endure forever.”

Prof. Dr. Mustafa Koçak of Antalya Bilim University, director of the excavation, explained that the inscription once stood at the entrance of the city, where it announced Termessos’ status to visitors entering the settlement.

The message is particularly significant because of the city’s famous encounter with Alexander the Great. Ancient sources record that Alexander failed to capture Termessos in 333 BC during his campaign through Anatolia. The episode helped establish the city’s reputation as a formidable mountain stronghold.

The newly deciphered text provides rare written evidence of how the people of Termessos understood their own civic identity and autonomy. Placed at the city gate, the inscription served not only as a marker of entry but also as a public statement of political identity.

Oracle reveals ancient divination practices

Researchers also identified a second inscription linked to divination using astragali, small ankle bones typically taken from sheep or goats. In antiquity, these bones were thrown like dice to seek guidance from the gods, a practice widely known throughout the Greek world.

Prof. Dr. Fatih Onur of Akdeniz University’s Department of Ancient Languages and Cultures explained that such systems used either five or seven bones. The Termessos inscription belongs to the seven-bone system, which produced 120 possible combinations. The resulting numbers directed users to specific written responses.

Three inscription blocks of this type have survived, and one remains visible at the site today. Researchers believe travelers and merchants may have consulted the oracle before journeys, trade, or other important decisions.

According to Onur, the responses were written in poetic language, suggesting that the texts were intended for ritual use rather than simple instruction.

New insight into life at Termessos

Together, the inscriptions offer a rare glimpse into both public and private life in ancient Termessos. One reflects the city’s civic identity and independence, while the other reveals how people sought divine guidance in everyday life.

For archaeologists, the discoveries deepen understanding of a city that stood at the crossroads of local Pisidian traditions and the broader Greek and Hellenistic world that shaped the eastern Mediterranean for centuries.

Researchers have expanded the known Sidetic alphabet to 31 letters, moving the field closer to decoding one of Anatolia’s lost languages. The new findings come from active excavations at Side Ancient City in Antalya’s Manavgat district.

The work is led by Prof. Dr. Feriştah Alanyalı, excavation director and archaeologist at Anadolu University, in collaboration with Italian linguist Alfredo Rizza and Austrian linguist Michaela Zinko. Funding comes through the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Heritage for the Future Project.

Sidetic sits within the Luwian branch of Anatolian Indo-European languages, a grouping that also includes Lycian and Carian. Decipherment has moved slowly because the surviving inscriptions are few and most span only one or two lines.

Alanyalı said that the thin body of material has made it hard to reconstruct grammar, vocabulary, and structure with any confidence.

New excavations yield longer texts and bilingual comparisons

New excavations have brought a shift. Researchers have now recovered inscriptions running as long as 30 to 40 lines, well beyond anything previously available. Bilingual texts written in both Sidetic and Greek have also come to light.

Alanyalı said that those texts have renewed optimism because matching content across two languages helps researchers assign meaning to unknown signs and connect recurring words to known concepts.

One finding in particular has drawn attention. Researchers now think the Sidetic terms “Siruawn” and “Siruawan” refer to Side itself.

Since the Greek word “Side” (Greek:Σίδη) translates to pomegranate, a fruit that featured prominently on the city’s ancient coinage, Alanyalı said that the name likely carried the same meaning in the native language.

She described this as a significant finding for understanding the city’s origins and identity.

An ancient city that held its language for centuries

Side is typically known through its Greek and Roman structures, but Alanyalı said that the city’s history runs deeper.

Ancient accounts record that settlers from the Greek city of Kyme arrived at Side and, over time, abandoned their own language in favor of the one spoken by local residents.

Alanyalı said that tradition points to a community whose culture was firmly rooted long before outside groups arrived.

That cultural foundation held even after Alexander the Great brought Greek influence into the region during the fourth century B.C.

The inscriptions show that Side’s residents continued writing in Sidetic for roughly two centuries into the Hellenistic period, with the language appearing to fade only around the late second century B.C.

Alanyalı said that the persistence of Sidetic complicates the idea that Greek culture quickly swept away what came before it.

Assyrian and Babylonian seals point to ancient eastern ties

Archaeological finds also point to Side’s connections with civilizations to the east. A Neo-Assyrian seal turned up during excavations at the site.

Separately, Italian researchers obtained a Neo-Babylonian seal from residents of the area before the Turkish War of Independence. Alanyalı said that the two objects together point to cultural ties with Mesopotamia dating back to the seventh century B.C.

A bilingual inscription tied to the city’s Serapis Temple adds another dimension. Alanyalı said that the text documents how the temple was financed, listing the names of donors and the sums each contributed, all written in Sidetic.

31 letters bring researchers closer to Anatolia’s lost language

The use of the local language for a public record of that kind confirms it was still understood and used in everyday civic life.

With the alphabet now standing at 31 known letters, up from 26, researchers working on this lost Anatolian language have a sharper set of tools.

Alanyalı said that the international team continues its work, and each newly identified letter brings the field a step closer to a fuller reading of inscriptions that Side’s people worked for generations to preserve.