Eti Bakır Continues Its Support for the Salkaya Excavation

As part of its “We Extract All the Ores Beneath the Earth” project, Eti Bakır continues to support Anatolia’s historical heritage. The company is maintaining its support in the second year of the Salkaya Excavation, conducted with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums. Following the accidental discovery of a floor mosaic in 2023, excavation work that began in 2024 has revealed new architectural evidence shedding light on the Roman presence in the area.

Eti Bakır, the only company in Türkiye capable of carrying out production from mining through to the final product, continues to create social value through its efforts to preserve historical and cultural heritage and pass it on to future generations. As part of its “We Extract All the Ores Beneath the Earth” project, Eti Bakır is continuing its support, for a second year, for the excavations at Salkaya Village in Elazığ, which are believed to date back to the Roman Period.

“WE WILL EXPAND THE EXCAVATION AREA”

Associate Professor Dr. Mehmet Kayhan Murat, Scientific Advisor to the Salkaya Excavation and faculty member at Kafkas University, said that the floor mosaic accidentally discovered by a farmer in 2023 revealed a settlement dating back to the Roman Period.

Explaining that new excavations have confirmed that the mosaic belonged to a villa, Murat said:

“The bathhouse located south of the mosaic area is particularly significant as it is the first example identified in Elazığ, with its well-preserved architectural layout. In the western wing of the structure, we uncovered crescent-shaped architectural units and hypocaust elements, a type of underfloor heating system developed during that period.

“We believe we are getting closer to other villas with the storage areas we discovered immediately south of the wine production workshop uncovered during last year’s excavations.”

Murat noted that the pathways made of neatly cut stones beginning to emerge between the bathhouse and the mosaic reveal the connections between the structures, and continued:

“Our four-year plan is to uncover the continuation of the pathways connecting the bathhouse and the mosaic. We also aim to begin and complete the excavation of the church we identified this year, revealing the entire structure.

“There are also several structures in the area with surviving walls whose functions have not yet been determined. We will expand our excavation work in that area this year as well. We would like to thank Eti Bakır for supporting our work and the Elazığ Museum Directorate for conducting the excavations.”

“WE WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE OUR SUPPORT”

Eti Bakır General Manager Asım Akbaş stated that preserving cultural heritage is an important part of the company’s sense of social responsibility.

Noting that the company’s new facility in Elazığ, which is scheduled to begin operations this year, is nearly complete, Akbaş said:

“With our Elazığ facility, which we established with an investment of $350 million, we will also contribute to the economic development of our city. At our Elazığ Operations, which will employ approximately 750 people, we will process 1 million tons of copper ore annually.

“For us, creating value in the regions where we operate is not limited to industrial investments. We see contributing to the preservation of Elazığ’s cultural and historical assets as an integral part of the same approach.

“Accordingly, through our support for the Salkaya Excavation, we will continue to contribute to uncovering the region’s cultural heritage and passing it on to future generations. Once our facility begins production, we will further expand our efforts to support the cultural and historical assets of our city.”