A shocked archaeologist raised the alarm when he discovered that a stone edifice being used as a seat by drivers at a local taxi stand was actually a 2000-year-old Roman sarcophagus.
The previously unidentified Roman-period sarcophagus was beside the road in the gardens of the Iznik Museum in the Turkish province of Bursa.
When that section of the road ended up becoming a taxi stand, the driver started using the sarcophagus, unaware of its long history, as a seat to rest on while waiting for customers.
But an archaeologist who decided to catch a taxi raised the alarm with authorities when he realised what they were sitting on, and they now plan to move it to a nearby museum.
Taxi driver Bedri Zagli said that he did not know the stone object was a historical sarcophagus and was surprised to learn of its history.
Zagli said it was a shame the sarcophagus had not been identified and moved earlier, as it has been damaged over time.
The directors of Iznik Museum said the sarcophagus will be moved as soon as possible and then displayed inside the museum when restoration works are finally completed.
In the meantime, the historical sarcophagus will remain at the taxi stand where it seems it is still helping to help prop up the cabbies’ table until experts are ready to move it to the museum.
However, the cabbies appear to at least have put their own chairs now by the taxi stand instead of using the sarcophagus itself to sit on.
2,000-year-old sarcophagus in front of taxi stop in Bursa 
2,000-year-old sarcophagus in front of taxi stop in Bursa
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Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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