Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Troy in northwestern Türkiye have unearthed a 4,500-year-old golden brooch and a rare jade stone. According to the report by Anadolu Agency, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced the remarkable finding on Saturday.
Ersoy announced the finding on the social media platform NSosyal, calling the brooch, dated to the Early Bronze Age, "one of the most important finds of the past century."
The minister highlighted it as one of only three known examples worldwide and the best-preserved among them.
The artefacts uncovered in the Troy II settlement layer date back to approximately 2,500 BC. According to the ministry, this discovery also sheds light on the long-standing debate regarding the beginning of the Troy II period.
Ersoy also stated that jade stone was considered a luxury item approximately 4,500 years ago. Both artefacts, along with a bronze pin discovered in the same layer, will be displayed at the Troy Museum in Çanakkale.
For more than 160 years, archaeologists have studied the ancient city of Troy, which was immortalised in Homer's epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey.
Troy, which has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1998, is regarded as one of the world's most important archaeological sites, shedding light on early Anatolian urbanisation and trade.
The ministry announced that this discovery would "shed light on the history of the land where it was found" and that the artefacts would be presented to the public in accordance with the principle of exhibiting them in the region where they were unearthed.