Late Roman hunting mosaic discovered in eastern Turkey

A large late Roman mosaic from the 3rd century AD has been unearthed in Salkaya, a village in Elazığ province, eastern Turkey. The discovery occurred in September 2024 when farmer Mehmet Emin Sualp found mosaic tiles while planting fruit trees on his property. He immediately alerted the Elazığ State Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, which initiated an excavation led by archaeologist Emre Çayır. Measuring 84 square meters, the mosaic is among the largest ever found in Turkey. Unlike typical Turkish mosaics featuring geometric patterns or mythological scenes, this one depicts a hunting scene with detailed animal figures, including a mountain goat chased by a lion, a deer fleeing a bear, an Anatolian leopard attacking an ostrich, and collared dogs encircling a wild boar. Pheasants, ducks, geese, and partridges are shown resting near roses or under trees, providing quiet interludes. Çayır described the mosaic as "the first of its kind to have survived to the present day in its entirety and in its representation of animals that once lived here." He noted that the lion and bear symbolize authority in Roman tradition, while the hunting dogs remind that humans are part of the food chain. The mosaic offers a linear narrative of nature's balance between power and survival.