ANKARA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The 8 million-year-old fossils discovered in central Turkey helped Turkish anthropologists fill the gaps in history and believe that Anatolia was once an inland sea, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Thursday.

    Anthropologists found several 8 million-year-old fossils in excavations carried out for 11 years in central province of Cankiri, which is cited as the most important excavation site for upper miocene findings, according to the report.

    "Horse, elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe, goat, deer and sheep fossils enlightened 8 million-year-old part of natural history of this region and excavations could go on for a long time," Ayhan Yigit, anthropologist from Ankara University, was quoted as saying.

    "We believe that this region was once an inland sea," said Yigit, adding, "and also because of mass fossils that we found, we understand that this region had faced mass deaths."

    Fossils unearthed in the dig are displayed at Turkey's first fossil museum in Cankiri.