Explaining that they will work to determine the first construction phase, periods of use, and purposes of the multi-phase Doric structure, Büyüközer said, "During the excavation work, a large church was uncovered in the area. After the church was no longer in use, the area where the ruins of the structure were located and the north were used as a necropolis. At higher levels, we found graves belonging to children aged 0-14. When we went down to slightly lower levels, we uncovered adult graves."
Büyüközer stated that six of the ten children's graves belonged to children aged 0-1 who had not yet completed their bone development, while the age range varied in the other four graves.
Büyüközer reported that children's graves were also found in the ongoing excavations to the north, and said that they believed an epidemic disease affecting children in particular may have occurred in Herakleia.
