ÇANAKKALE, TURKEY—The Anadolu Agency reports that a trident estimated to be 1,700 years old has been discovered near a fountain in the ancient city of Assos, which is located on the coast of the Aegean Sea. “This is the first time we find such materials in Assos,” said Nurettin Arslan of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University. “However, this trident found in this structure is an important example in that it was found almost completely intact,” he explained. Tridents, he added, are known from ancient murals and other depictions, where they were shown to be used to spear big fish from boats by torchlight at night. Iron is known to have been worked at Assos, but it is not clear if this trident had been made there, he concluded. Conservators are now cleaning the artifact and sealing it to protect it from oxidation. To read about 4,000-year-old cuneiform letters unearthed in Turkey that detail the private and professional lives of Mesopotamian businesswomen, go to "Assyrian Women of Letters."