Robert D. Rokicki, who works at the Polish embassy in Ankara and is an amateur explorer, accomplished a feat that eluded professional archaeologists, according to the ancient-origins.net website.
Thebasa played a historically important role in a 500-year conflict between the Byzantine Empire and various Muslim Caliphates over control of the peninsula of Anatolia in modern-day Turkey, ancient-origins.net reported.
It cited Rokicki as saying in an interview that his "favorite way of tourism" in Turkey was "off-road hiking in search of historical places.”
He also said that his discovery of Thebasa "was a bit accidental," according to ancient-origins.net.
The website quoted a British expert, Prof. Stephen Mitchell, a British Academy fellow and the honorary secretary of the British Institute at Ankara, as saying that Rokicki's "work adds a whole new chapter to the story of the conflict between the Byzantines and the Arabs in the 10th and 11th centuries."
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Source: ancient-origins.net