Archeologists have been exploring a necropolis housing 55 bodies and 18 pieces of 1,700-year-old golden jewelry in the ancient city of Ephesus, located in the Aegean province of İzmir.

The deputy leader of the excavation team, Austrian Sabine Ladstätter, spoke yesterday to the Anatolia news agency and said they had found important archeological remains during this year's Ephesus excavation season, which finished at the end of September, and added that the jewelry they found had been a surprise.

Ladstätter noted that they had found a necropolis this year with mosaics and pictures on its walls, saying there were 55 bodies inside the five graves in the necropolis, along with gold jewelry and silk fabrics with gold fibers. "The jewelry we found inside was sophisticated, and we think these graves belong to the elites of that age."

The biggest problem they have encountered in the region is illegal excavation, said Ladstätter, adding that other tombs in the area have a history of being looted and so the jewelry they found was a surprise. She said they have met people who have opened online bids for the artifacts they have illegally taken from Ephesus and added that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism had decided to accelerate excavations at the necropolis to prevent these illegal operations. Ladstätter also said 166 scientists from Germany, Austria and Turkey participated in this year's excavations.