Category: Turkey

Recent Finds from Milas, Stratonikeia

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

A somewhat rambling item from World Bulletin:

Excavations in a field in Milas, a district of the southwestern province of Mugla, has uncovered mosaic tiles belonging to the Roman era.

The excavations began after the Milas Gendarmerie Command raided a store in Milas upon a tip-off and found five Roman-era pots there. Also, three unregistered rifles, one unregistered handgun and fireworks were seized in the raid. Two suspects were taken into custody.

An excavation team then started working in the field where the two suspects reportedly said they had found the pots. Excavations unearthed mosaic tiles one meter below the surface. The excavations at the field continue.

Milas District Governor Bahattin Atçı, gendarmerie Lt. Col. Ertuğrul Memiş and gendarmerie Lt. Gürkan Uygun held a press conference on Friday about the findings. Atçı said he believes the newly found tiles will significantly contribute to Turkey’s cultural wealth. “We already knew that there were very precious historical artifacts in the region. We need to focus more on unearthing them,” he said.

Atçı noted that the mosaic tiles that have been found might be as valuable as ones found in the ancient city of Zeugma in the southern province of Gaziantep. Zeugma is one of the four most important historical settlements under the reign of the Kingdom of Commagene.

The district governor said he hopes the artifacts draw archeologists’ attention to the region. He also stressed that they are also trying to increase intelligence activities and operations against illegal excavations and called on locals to inform the authorities if they know anything about any illegal excavation.

Last year, a 2,000-year-old relief bust of a king was discovered during excavations in the ancient city of Stratonikeia — where the largest gymnasium in Anatolia and a gladiator graveyard are located — in Muğla’s Yatağan district. The bust, which is one-and-a-half meters tall and nearly two meters wide, features depictions of bull heads and the figure of a goddess.

Stratonikeia

Archaeologists have re-launched an excavation project in the ancient city of Stratonikeia, which is located in the southwestern province of Muğla, where many artifacts have been unearthed since the work first began in 2008.

Stratonikeia, which is situated in the present day village of Eskihisar and often referred to by archaeologists as the world’s largest city built entirely of marble, is also known as an ancient city of great warriors. Many gladiator gravestones have been found there, including those belonging to famous fighters such as Droseros, who was killed by Achilles, as well as Vitalius, Eumelus, Amaraios, Khrysopteros and Khrysos.

The excavations are being carried out by the archaeology department at Denizli’s Pamukkale University and are headed by Professor Bilal Söğüt. Söğüt told the Anatolia news agency that they uncovered 702 historical artifacts in 2012 and have now resumed work for the next six months with a team of 100 people. Söğüt further stated that they have applied to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for Stratonikeia to be put on the World Heritage List.

To date the largest gymnasium in Anatolia, a basilica, a necropolis and the fortification walls have been restored. The original 10-meter-high columns on Stratonikeia’s main street have also been re-erected.

Chest Plate (?) Recovered

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ 6 Comments

A brief, and as always, tantalizing item from Hurriyet:

An armor plate, worn by ancient warriors on their chest, has been seized in the northwestern province of Çanakkale’s Lapseki district. The man in possession of the plate, which is thought to have historical importance, has been taken into custody.

Following a tip off, the Lapseki gendarmerie observed a carpenter named M.S., who was allegedly attempting to smuggle historical artifacts, for a week. Then he was seized with the armor plate, which is made up of three pieces. The plate was delivered to the Archaeology Museum Directorate. An examination will reveal the period of the armor plate.

The original article is accompanied by this image:

… clearly not Roman, but we’ll hopefully hear more about this because Lapseki is the ancient Lampsacus, so we have Greek settlers in the area from the 6th century B.C. or thereabouts. The pose of the warrior might seem Hellenizing, at least, but I can’t recall a Greek cuirass which isn’t ‘muscled’ …

Roman Finds from Manisa

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A pair of painfully brief items, but if we post both, the picture isn’t too vaguae. First, from Turkish Press:

A number of historical artifacts believed to date back to the Roman period have been unearthed by a backhoe operator in the Sarigol district of the western province of Manisa.

Salih Sari was digging in a field when he hit something. He stopped the backhoe and searched the area with a shovel and found numerous artifacts that are believed to belong to the Roman period.

The artifacts were taken to the Manisa Museum.

… and from Sanliurfa:

3 marble tombs of children along with a vat, a pot, and a bowl of Roman era were discovered in a field near Afsar village of Manisa province’s Sarigol district in western Turkey during a routine work in the field.

A gendarmerie unit was informed about the discovery, and the historical artefacts were delivered to Manisa Museum.

The latter includes a really bad photo of what are apparently the finds. FWIW …

Roman Tomb from Bodrum

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ 1 Comment

Brief (and vague) item from Hurriyet:

A two-room grave has been discovered in the Aegean province of Muğla’s city of Bodrum. The grave is thought to date back to the Roman period, and was found during construction work on Şalvarağa Hill behind Bodrum Port two months ago.An investigation carried out by the Bodrum Museum Directorate revealed that the grave had been robbed and a rescue excavation was initiated by museum officials. A piece of gold leaf found in the grave has been transferred to a museum.Officials said that the grave was probably robbed in the Roman period. After a restoration project. it will be restored and opened to the public.

… a photo of the tomb is included with the original article … could be interesting …

Recent Finds in Smyrna’s Agora

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From Hurriyet:

A part of a street similar to the Arcadian street in the ancient city of Ephesus in İzmir has been uncovered during excavations at a nearby historical agora.

The excavations in the area are being carried out under the leadership of Professor Akın Ersoy and his team. He said the main street, which begins from the Faustina gate and continues to the port, had been found to the researchers’ surprise. “We have also found a fountain on this street. The fountain has a statement that praises a benefactor for his support for the ancient city of Smyrna.”

Ersoy said they had also located a multi-echelon staircase on the street. “The continuation of this staircase goes to an area covered with mosaics. This ancient street is 80 meters long, but it reached the sea. This is the most important street in the agora for the entrance of goods. Just like in Ephesus, the street blocks water and has a very good sewer system. Visitors are prohibited from entering the area at the moment. When the work is done, tourists will be able to walk on this street just like in Ephesus.

The agora of Smyrna was built during the Hellenistic era at the base of Pagos Hill. It was the commercial, judicial and political nucleus of the ancient city. After a destructive earthquake in 178 AD, Smyrna was rebuilt in the Roman period and used until the Byzantine period.

One of the historical structures that had been long been neglected in the agora has recently been restored by the municipality as Agora Excavation House with support of the İzmir Development Agency.

via: Main street revealed in agora of Smyrna