Category: Turkey

Statue of Hermes (?) from Patara

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

From Hurriyet:

A bronze Hermes statue from the Roman era, which has been unearthed during excavations in the ancient city of Patara in the southern province of Antalya’s Kaş district and restored at the Antalya Museum, was yesterday introduced to Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay.

The head of the excavations, Professor Havva İşkan Işık, said the four-meter long head statue was unique in Turkey and the world, saying, “we have never found such a stature before.”

Işık said the statue was estimated to date back to the period of Emperor Constantine. “This is a work from the late period, which makes it more special,” he said.

Following the uncovering of the statue, it was observed that the statue looked like the modern day people of the region.

… the original article has (for a change) a very nice photo of the clearly-restored piece. It actually looks like it’s a ‘herm’ of Apollo rather than a statue of Hermes, per se, but maybe it’s a ‘herm of Hermes’? That said, we haven’t heard from Patara in ages … poking around our archives:

Roman Wall in Canakkale

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From Hurriyet:

A landslide that recently occurred in the northwestern province of Çanakkale’s Erenköy district has unearthed a Roman wall dating back to 1,800 years ago.

Heavy rainfall caused a landslide around a viaduct in the district. The historic remains that emerged after the landslide were first spotted next to the Çanakkale-İzmir highway by Professor Doğan Perinçek, a member of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University’s Geology and Engineering Department. Perinçek informed archaeologist Candan Kozanlı about the situation and further examinations revealed that it was part of a supporting wall from the Roman era.

“We found out that the wall was from the Roman era because the ancient city of Ophrynion is behind this road. There is also an old Roman bridge inside a creek in this area. We think that this bridge and wall are structures from that time. The wall is a very good example of engineering in that era,” Perinçek told members of the press.

via: Çanakkale landslide reveals Roman wall (Hurriyet)

A decent photo accompanies the article … standard Roman wall, but what was it attached to?

Town Planning at Pisidian Antioch

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From Hurriyet:

Archaeologists digging up the past in the southern province of Isparta are slowly revealing an ancient city whose well-developed sense of urban planning seems to have served as a model for subsequent conurbations.

“The ancient city [of Pisidia Antiocheia] is positioned on two main rectangular streets that cut each other vertically, which is called Hippodamic town planning,” the head of the excavations at the ancient city and the head of the Archaeology Department of Süleyman Demirel University, Mehmet Özhanlı, recently told Anatolia news agency, adding that it was positioned on a slope overlooking the west.

“Aqueducts were also established in the city to meet water needs. The city was established on seven hills just like Istanbul. The temple of the city’s greatest god was built on the highest hill. The main streets of the city intersect on a north-south, east-west basis. Public buildings were built at certain points on these streets,” he said.

Hippodamic town planning was subsequently deployed in the construction of cities in Europe and the Americas.
Özhanlı said Pisidia Antiocheia was one of the largest cities in the era and added that it had been constructed with regards to the origin of possible enemy attacks, agricultural and stock breeding areas, water resources and wind direction.

The professor also said they had discovered two-meter-deep sewage system under all the streets in the city.

Sewage system
“This sewage system network exists in all the main streets and side streets. When it rains, your shoes do not get wet because the ground of all streets is covered with 1.5-meter-high stones. There were also sidewalks. None of the buildings blocked the light of any other building. All shops in the city were the same size,” he said, hailing what he called “perfect town planning.” Özhanlı also said the inhabitants of the ancient city had enjoyed “full democracy.”

Pisidia Antiocheia also featured a stadium with a capacity of 15,000, as well as a temple, an assembly building and other public buildings. “All these are necessary for a place to be recognized as a city in the ancient era. We have so far unearthed them, even though we have excavated only 5 percent of the city,” he said.

“We believe that our excavations will make great contributions to Turkey’s cultural and structural value in the next 10 years,” the professor said.

… didn’t know that ‘seven hills’ detail …

News from Straonikeia

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From Hurriyet:

The world’s largest marble city, the ancient city of Stratonikeia in the Aegean province of Muğla’s Yatağan district, is expected to be included on the temporary list of UNESCO world heritage sites.

The head of excavations at the ancient city and Pamukkale University Professor Bilal Söğüt said Stratonikeia, one of the most important cities in the Caria region, was a settlement of Carians and Lelegs, both local Anatolian populations, and also survived as a settlement during the Hellenistic, Byzantine, Ottoman and Republican period.

Söğüt said they unearth significant artifacts during the archaeological excavations every year. “This is a living archaeological city. It is unique. There is no other city where structures have survived as a whole since the ancient period. This is why the city should be listed as a cultural heritage site. We will finish the work this year and deliver the necessary forms to the General Directorate of Museums.”

2012 excavations

Söğüt said that the latest excavations had begun in Stratonikeia in June 2012 with the participation of 50 academics and students from eight universities as well as 40 workers.

He said that each academic carried out work in his own area of expertise, mainly in the ancient theater, gymnasium, basilica, graves and city walls. “Structures from different periods in the ancient city were restored for visits. Greek, Latin and Ottoman scriptures can be seen on the same structure together. The city is culturally rich in this sense,” he added.

Söğüt said that 725 artifacts had been found during 2012 excavations and all of them had been conserved and restored. “225 of these pieces can directly go on view. All discussions regarding restoration work have been completed and the artifacts were delivered to the Muğla Museum. The strong columns that were found in the western street were revived. Looking at this 10-meter wide street is enough to understand the magnificence of Stratonikeia.”

Sewage system can be used

Söğüt said the theater in the city had been built with a temple. “Stratonikeia is one of the places where the theater and temple relation can be seen the best. The theater, which has a capacity of 15,000 people, has been excavated and conservations work has been finished. The most perfect sewage system of the ancient era has been found in the theater. We are very pleased because it is in good enough condition to be used even today.”

Söğüt also said that the restoration of the Hasan Şar House inside the ancient city would be completed this year with a financial allocation from the Muğla Governor’s Office.

In case you were wondering what happened at Stratonikeia last year around this time:

Artemis (maybe) from Alabanda

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From Hurriyet:

English: Aydın location Çine. Türkçe: Aydın Çi...
English: Aydın location Çine. Türkçe: Aydın Çine ilçesinin konumu. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A marble sculpture head of Artemis from the fourth century BC has been uncovered in the ancient city of Alabanda as the archeological excavations there come to a close. In some of the excavations made at the site, the doors of the ancient city were uncovered, the head of the excavation team, Aydın Adnan Menderes University Archeology department academic Suat Ateşlier said. The walls from the Byzantine era were also found, he added.

These walls and the road were uncovered near the Temple of Apollo, said Ateşlier. “We have also found a very valuable sculpture head in the same area. The quality of the sculpture is very good, and it is in very good condition. This is a goddess sculpture.” He added that experts believed it was of the goddess Artemis, the sister of Apollo.

Ateşlier said they had started in July and this season many newly excavated artifacts has been uncovered at the site. The team closed the excavations on Dec. 20.

This year also geophysical analysis was done in the area and another goddess’ temple was found, added Ateşlier.

The location of the temple was determined, and next year the excavations will be done in that area, he said.

The site is located in Çine, in the Aegean province of Aydın.

The original article has a nice photo of the head in situ … I suspect the identification is made based on the apparent fillet in the hair (which rules out Aphrodite, perhaps); not sure if I detect an earring there or not which might suggest this is an empress of some sort. Even if there is no earring, compare the hairstyle, e.g., to this image of Sabina  (Hadrian’s wife)… Alabanda, by the way, was the ancient Antiochia of the Chrysaorians …