ISTANBUL, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Academics digging through earthquake rubble in Türkiye's southern province of Hatay have unearthed nearly 300 artifacts, local media reported on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism established the Disaster Area Excavation Directorate to salvage any treasures lost to the devastation in Hatay, a cosmopolitan province home to many ancient Christian, Muslim, and Jewish sites, the state-run Anadolu agency said.
The team, led by Caucuses University Art History Department head Dr. Muhammet Arslan and including 16 scientists and 21 students from nine universities, has been excavating at 63 registered cultural sites in Hatay.
The sites include mosques, churches, tombs, fountains, baths, chapels, and public buildings and residences.
"Unfortunately, there are about 180 sites that are either completely destroyed or severely damaged. Apart from these, there are also moderately damaged structures," Arslan was quoted as saying.
"To date, we have completed our work on 63 registered cultural assets. Ultimately, we have unearthed nearly 300 movable cultural heritage artifacts from the rubble," he said.
The recovered items include tablets, icons (religious portraits), nearly 200 religious books, liturgical equipment, hand-written holy books, decorative architectural pieces, ceramics, oil lamps, door handles with the Ottoman coat of arms, as well as crosses, coins and wooden door panels.
The items have been documented, rated and inventoried and are now kept in a temporary storage facility.
Hatay province is one of the areas most affected by the massive earthquakes that hit both Türkiye and Syria in February that killed over 50,000 people. ■