New Traces of Dionysus Worship Turn Up at Kurul Castle, a 2,300-Year-Old Fortress in Northern Türkiye

Excavators at Kurul Castle, a fortress on a rocky hill in the Bayıdı neighbourhood about 13 kilometres from central Ordu in northern Türkiye, have uncovered new areas linked to the worship of Dionysus. Ordu Metropolitan Municipality announced the 2026 findings on 12 October. Professor Süleyman Yücel Şenyurt of Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University has led the dig since 2010.

What the team reports from 2026

Şenyurt said the new objects matter for understanding religious practice at the site. The team has not yet released detailed descriptions or measurements of the 2026 finds. Mayor Mehmet Hilmi Güler said about 40 percent of the excavation is complete. The municipality describes Kurul as the region’s first scientific archaeological excavation.

Finds from earlier seasons

Earlier seasons produced a marble statue of the goddess Cybele, found in 2016 seated on a throne near the main entrance. It stands about 110 centimetres tall and weighs around 200 kilograms. It remained in its original position, and a collapsed wooden structure had covered it. Coins and arrowheads lay around it, and some may have been offerings.

Other finds include terracotta figures of Dionysus as a child and of Pan, goat-shaped composite vessels linked to ceremonies for these deities, and a sculpted horned head of Dionysus near the northern terrace entrance. Smaller Cybele figures, more Dionysus images and objects tied to Apollo and Hermes also turned up. The everyday and military finds include bronze keys, pottery, oil lamps, jewellery, coins, arrowheads, spearheads, axes and stone projectiles.

Why Dionysus matters here

The report says the fortress is believed to have been established by Mithridates VI Eupator, who ruled the Kingdom of Pontus from about 120 to 63 BCE and fought three major wars against Rome. It adds that Mithridates identified himself with Dionysus and took that name, which explains the interest in the god’s worship at the site. The report presents the link to Mithridates as a belief, not a proven fact.

What is still open

This post draws on a municipal statement, not a peer-reviewed paper. The report calls the castle 2,300 years old, while a photo caption gives the Cybele statue as 2,150 years old, and the report does not reconcile the two figures.