Archaeologists have uncovered a well-preserved blacksmith workshop dating back about 1,500 years at the ancient city of Seleukeia Sidera in Türkiye’s Isparta province. The discovery provides a detailed view of iron production and organised manufacturing during the fifth century. Excavations are being conducted throughout the year by Suleyman Demirel University with permission from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Researchers found an iron-production furnace, an anvil, a charcoal storage space and a pool used to cool heated metal. They also recovered semi-finished horseshoes, nails, knives, large pieces of iron and other objects linked to metalworking. The collection records almost every stage of production within a single work area, and the recovered materials have been transferred to the Isparta Museum Directorate.

The workshop was located after surface surveys identified iron waste and geophysical studies narrowed the search area. Excavation director Bilge Hurmuzlu Kortholt said the building stood within the ancient city’s industrial quarter and retained the arrangement expected of a complete blacksmith’s workplace. Such a well-preserved example is considered uncommon in Anatolia.

Work has also continued in the city’s marketplace, where earlier commercial activity was concentrated. Archaeologists say the latest finds support the view that Seleukeia Sidera was an important regional centre with significant industrial output. The evidence also suggests that settlement extended beyond the city’s 330-hectare urban core into areas now occupied by Cunur, Sav and Harmanoren.

Nearby lakes and the Akcay River are believed to have supported farming, livestock activity and manufacturing. By bringing together tools, production areas and finished or partly finished goods, the workshop gives researchers an unusually complete record of how local metalworkers organised their labour fifteen centuries ago.