Several burial sites were found around the excavation site, including a gravestone that read "the sweetest child of them all" and a Byzantine period graveyard.

Pergamon (a city that is now part of modern day Turkey) is a cultural sponge that has been ruled by many different entities throughout its history. The city was first founded in the 3 century B.C. as the capital of the Attalid dynasty. Then, it was passed to the Romans in 133 B.C., eventually becoming a thriving metropolis and the capital of the Roman Province of Asia. Later, during the Byzantine period, Pergamon devolved from a major Hellenistic and Roman center into just a mid-sized town, and eventually underwent one final (major) cultural adjustment when the Ottomans urbanized the region.

A recent excavation in Pergamon unearthed a massive Roman period complex called the "Mosaic House" that is a testament to the city's diverse history.

"One of the most striking features of the Mosaic House is that it has mosaic floors," excavation director Yusuf Sezgin said in a translated statement. "This shows that the structure was a special and important place. We assess that the structure was built in the 2 and 3 centuries A.D. It may have been abandoned by a great fire during the Arab raids in the 7 century."

The floors of the house were intricately decorated with colorful mosaics featuring floral and geometric patterns. Experts suggest that the structure was what is called a "peristyle house," and was likely inhabited by important people of the time. According to Sezgin, the central courtyard and pool were especially striking.

Archaeologists also found something else that suggests the building was important: a sealed roof tile from the Hellenistic period. The tile was inscribed with the word "Basilique," indicating that the Mosaic House was owned by a king. The finding was especially notable because this is the first time a sealed tile was found completely intact.

The excavation also uncovered a gravestone in the pool of the courtyard. The stone depicts a child hunting rabbits with his dog and reads "the sweetest child of them all." Researchers believe the stone was made by the boy's mother, which sheds light on social practices of the time.

This wasn't the only burial site archaeologists discovered, however. They also found a graveyard from the Byzantine period. Further examination revealed more than one burial in each grave, which could suggest that living conditions were difficult at the time. Other Roman and Byzantine period artifacts were also found at the site, including kitchenware, war tools, jewelry, and coins.

So far, archaeologists have only excavated a fraction of the site. Appropriate artifacts found at the site will reportedly be displayed at the Pergamon museum. The project is just one part of the "Heritage for the Future" initiative in Turkey, which seeks to invest in archaeological exploration and contribute to the cultural heritage of the region.