Updates
The interview was published on 6 May; the version containing video appeared on 7 May 2026.
In an interview published by İHA, archaeologist Semih Yaşar Çizikci described traces of two rooms at Zile. He also proposed a columned courtyard and a larger villa.
The statement raises further questions about the architecture around the mosaics. The building’s complete form and function remain unsettled.
After examining the mosaic on site, Alper Yılmaz interpreted the female figure as a personification of luxurious ease. DHA also reported his assessment that opus tessellatum and opus vermiculatum were used together.
Yılmaz proposed a second-century AD date on stylistic grounds. That date is reported as his attributed proposal.
Zile Municipality announced a site inspection on 16 July. The following day, Amasya University’s Institute of Social Sciences recorded the participation of history faculty members and graduate students in the mosaic rescue excavation conducted by Tokat Museum.
According to Anadolu Agency, a month-long campaign was completed. An enlarged exposed area and additional mosaic scenes prompted a request to the Ministry for further excavation.
The record concerns the end of the initial campaign, rather than the completion of all research at the site.
The date is the report’s publication date.
Anadolu Agency reported that Tokat Museum had begun a rescue excavation, planned for a month with a team of about twenty. The report did not give an exact start date.
The event took place on 6 May; the report was published on 7 May 2025.
An intervention against an illegal dig took place in a country-house garden in Zile. DHA’s report the next day recorded a pavement with Greek lettering and a female figure in an opening of about 3 × 3 metres.
The measurement described the exposed portion; the mosaics’ total extent was not yet known.