A 24-hour watch has been set up to guard a spectacular ancient mosaic that was illegally unearthed from the floor of a house in a Turkish village that is the site of a 3,500 years of settlement.

The historical piece was revealed after the Turkish gendarmerie raided a house where illegal excavations by treasure hunters were reported being carried out in the neighbourhood of Yukaribilen in the town of Islahiye in Gaziantep Province in south-eastern Turkey.

They found the crooks in the process of unearthing the mosaic which it is believed they plan to sell. The painstaking work to unearth the site’s treasures had apparently started by the crooks in 2019.

Police teams who raided the house found 200 to 250 square meters of mosaic still in place on the floor that extended into the courtyard.

When the news broke, teams of the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism organised emergency excavations. Police teams were also sent to guard the house and prevent any illegal action or destruction of the historical pieces.

The mosaic portrays people with swords in their hands and different animals. It is planned to be removed from its current location and exhibited at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep.

Expert teams have conducted research to determine whether other mosaics are present in the area. According to Seyhmus Izguden, head of the Yukaribilen neighbourhood, it is not surprising that a mosaic was unearthed in the region and he believes that more artefacts will come to light if the area is investigated thoroughly.

He stated that the neighbourhood is a settlement with 3,500 years of history, adding: “It makes us proud to have a mosaic removed and exhibited here. We think that if detailed research is done, different works will emerge from our neighbourhood.”