The Nine Men's Morris Game Boards Identified at Mor Kuryakos (Dera Qira) Monastery: An Assessment

Mor Kuryakos Monastery, located in Ayrancı Village of the Beşiri District in Batman Province, served as an important religious centre for the Syriac community for many years. Available evidence suggests that the monastery was most likely abandoned after 1915, following the decline of the Syriac population in the region. The structure remained unused throughout the early Republican period and gradually fell into ruin. Archaeological excavations were conducted by the Batman Museum Directorate as part of the restoration works at the monastery. Although the construction date of the monastery has not yet been established with certainty, various dates have been proposed in the scholarly literature. The restoration works revealed evidence of different architectural phases, providing new insights into the chronology of the monastery. One of the most significant discoveries made during these investigations was the identification of two Nine Men's Morris game boards.Recent archaeological discoveries from Mesopotamia have provided important evidence for understanding the development and geographical distribution of ancient gaming traditions. The game boards uncovered at Mor Kuryakos Monastery may also be associated with the long-standing tradition of strategy games documented across Mesopotamia and contribute new evidence to the study of the region's gaming culture. Nine Men's Morris has been documented across a wide geographical area and is represented by numerous archaeological finds, indicating its long-term use. The game is generally considered to have been widely played during the Roman Period, with game boards commonly incised on floors, stairways, and other architectural elements in military installations, monasteries, and various other buildings.In this study, the game boards were evaluated with regard to their typological characteristics and archaeological context and comparatively examined alongside similar examples reported in the literature. The findings indicate that the Nine Men's Morris game boards identified at Mor Kuryakos Monastery provide new evidence for discussions concerning the chronology and geographical distribution of gaming culture in Mesopotamia.