By Mustafa Unal Uysal

ISPARTA, Turkey

A mass grave in southern Turkey dating back thousands of years could give new insight into the people of that era, according to Turkish researchers.

The cave full of prehistoric skeletons was discovered around a year ago in a cave called Kadiini in Alanya, in the southern Antalya province, by a group of extreme athletes. They took photos and told anthropologists at the nearby Suleyman Demirel University.

“[The skeletons] hold important data that could shed light on biological and morphological features of the peoples of that era,” the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages, anthropologist Nalan Damla Yilmaz Usta told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday, announcing the find.

A team of researchers did a one-week study with archaeological excavations and found around 100 human skeletons dating back some 5,000-7,000 years.

Usta added that this is the first time such a mass grave was found in a cave in Anatolia.

The prehistoric people probably used the depths of the cave as a kind of tomb, she said, adding that there were also archeological findings in the cave apart from the skeletons.

Usta said due to floods and ceiling collapses over the years some of bones were mixed, but added: “But some of the samples were in situ, not harmed."

Iron ions in the cave kept the skeletons well-preserved, she said.

As there are few remains from the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages in Alanya, the discovery is important, she said.

From their findings so far, she said that the community had a settled life and raised livestock.