Archaeologists in Turkey have discovered an 800-year-old healing bowl meant to protect against animal bites during excavations in an Artuqid period castle.
The bowl was found within a terracotta water pipe at the site of Hasankeyf, an ancient settlement dating back about 12,000 years, Zekai Erdal, an archaeology professor at Mardin Artuklu University in Turkey who is leading excavations at the site, told Live Science in an email. Excavations have been carried out since 1985 and have been increasingly urgent as the construction of the Ilısu Dam has caused flooding in parts of the site.
