The area will be protected using advanced technologies, in a first by the ministry. (AA Photo)
The ancient city of Sardes and Bintepe Lydian Tumuli Aerial Monitoring and Security Center has opened in Manisa to help protect the archaeological sites from illegal excavations using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said the center would use technology to detect, deter and prevent illegal excavation attempts as early as possible.
Speaking at the opening ceremony held at the ancient city of Sardes, Ersoy said they would protect cultural heritage through advanced technological methods, describing the center as the ministry’s first such application.
He said the Bintepe area, located near Sardes, the capital of Lydia, is a unique archaeological landscape covering about 75 square kilometers and containing more than 120 monumental tombs, including the tomb of Lydian King Alyattes.
The area has previously been targeted by illegal excavations, causing irreversible damage, Ersoy said, stressing the need to detect threats as early as possible to protect such a vast archaeological landscape.
The ministry renovated a former excavation house near Karnıyarık Tepe, overlooking Bintepe, and converted it into an aerial monitoring and security center.
The center is equipped with two long-range UAV systems with night-vision capabilities, three antenna systems to expand coverage, central monitoring systems, large screens and perimeter security cameras. Security personnel have also completed UAV pilot training and certification.
When suspicious activity or an illegal excavation attempt is detected during aerial monitoring, the information is immediately shared with gendarmerie units for intervention, Ersoy said.
“We are using technology to detect, deter and prevent illegal excavation attempts as early as possible,” he said.
