Ancient Liturgical Cup Depicting Daniel’s Dream Unearthed in Turkey

Archaeologists from Süleyman Demirel University uncovered a two‑handle liturgical cup dating to the 6th century AD at the Pisidia Antiokheia ancient site in Yalvaç, Isparta Province, Turkey. The cup bears unique iconography of the biblical Daniel’s dream, showing the four beasts and additional motifs of a lion, deer and dog on both sides, a depiction the researchers say is unknown elsewhere in the world.

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Özhanlı, the excavation leader, explained that the artifact was found among the ruins of a monastery destroyed during the Arab raids of 713, and that its style indicates it was produced locally in Antiokheia, reflecting a sophisticated ceramic manufacturing centre. The find offers new insight into early Christian art and the spread of biblical imagery in Anatolia.