Pilgrim Dimitrakis Inscribed Skull Found in Sinope Koimesis Church

A male skull with the Greek inscription “Pilgrim Dimitrakis” was found during archaeological excavations at Balatlar Church in Sinop, on the Black Sea coast of Türkiye.

Balatlar Church or Sinope Koimesis Church, whose identity and usage phases can be determined with the excavations that started in 2010, is the only structure in Sinop City history whose purpose of use is known. During the excavations conducted under the direction of Professor Gülgün Köroğlu, the most comprehensive studies of the Byzantine period were carried out in Sinop.

It has been determined through excavations that the building known as Balatlar Church was a Roman Empire bath constructed in the second century. As a consequence of the studies, it was established that the bath complex comprising the Palaestra, Frigidarium, Tepidarium, Caldarium, and Laconicum venues started to be used as a church in the late 4th or early 5th century. It is noteworthy that the structure was converted into a church in an early period.

The skull found in the ossuary section of the church has no other example in Turkey.

Sinop Balatlar Church.

In the examination conducted under the chairmanship of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Tolga Çırak, Head of the Anthropology Department of Hitit University Faculty of Arts and Sciences, it was determined that the skull belonged to an Orthodox cleric who went to Jerusalem to make a pilgrimage.

The inscribed skull has an important place for the world of science as one of the most interesting applications as well as being one of the latest examples of the skull cult dating back thousands of years in Anatolia. The inscribed skull reveals that the cultures in Anatolia did not disappear even after thousands of years and continued in different communities by changing their forms.