Randomly found stones reveal 1700-year-old agricultural calendar

It was determined that the cut stones with red painted shapes found by chance in the Develi district of Kayseri were the biodynamic agricultural calendar from the Roman period, which timed agricultural activities according to the positions of the moon and stars.

While walking around Develi with his friends in 2013, Bilgin Yazlık, a member of the board of directors of the Kültepe Koramaz Association and an assistant professor at Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University, came across 5 cut stones with various figures painted with red root paint.

Yazlık, who has been conducting research for many years on the stones protected by the Kayseri Museum Directorate, revealed the biodynamic agriculture calendar (the oldest and most environmentally friendly sustainable agriculture method) of the Roman period, based on similar calendars used in the same period and the figures on the stones.

Yazlık said that he dated the stones thanks to the 4th century coins unearthed during excavations that started in the region in 2005.

Explaining that there were pictures on the stones, Yazlık said, "I saw that there were points arranged in a certain systematic way, resembling the phases of the moon and constellations."

Stating that as a result of his research, he determined that the stones were parts of the biodynamic agricultural calendar, which timed agricultural activities according to the positions of the moon and stars, Yazlık stated that the calendar used in the Roman period stands out as the first and only example known in Anatolia.

"A similar example has never been seen before"

Yazlık stated that he wrote an article about the stones in the Nevşehir Hacıbektaş Veli University Social Sciences Institute Journal and said, "In this article, we created the interconnected diagrams of the 5 pieces. A similar example has never been seen before. Since we know the existing examples, when we saw this example in the past, we found the relationship between the two."

Noting that Anatolian people have been farming according to astrological patterns and moon phases for thousands of years, Yazlık stated that this tradition has been put into writing with the biodynamic agricultural calendar.

Yazlık underlined that the stones are also important for regional tourism, saying, "These approximately 1,700-year-old stones we found in the Develi region are also valuable for tourism, as they are the only known examples of their kind in Anatolia."