The Wonder of Aphrodisias

Submitted by Iza on Fri, 09/30/2022 - 12:24

Text and photos by our correspondent from Didyma, Glenn Maffia.

It delighted me immensely to recently read that the Aphrodisias Archaeology Workshop shall resume after the Covid enforced hiatus of some two years. This initiative, set in motion in 2018, fulfils an important educational and social criterion which hopefully realizes a vast improvement on the appreciation of historical artefacts; their context, their unadulterated quality and beauty, and the constant state of flux which encapsulates all civilizations.

August 2022 in Turkish archaeology

Submitted by Iza on Thu, 09/01/2022 - 14:23

The archaeological discoveries made in August 2022 in the area of Turkey encompassed many prehistoric and historic periods. A clay statuette of a female figure dating back 7,800 years was unearthed during the Ulucak Mound excavation in Izmir. At the ongoing excavations in the Gürpınar district of Van province, a chamber tomb carved into the bedrock and a water channel dating back to the Urartians were found. The excavations at Porsuk-Zeyve Höyük of the Ulukışla district of Niğde uncovered the plaster walls of the Persian period. At the ongoing archaeological digs in the ancient city of Gordion, the capital of the Phrygians, an inscription bearing the name of the ancient city was unearthed. The remains of a 2,200-year-old Roman fountain were discovered in northwestern Turkey at the ancient site of Assos. A statue depicting Apollo, a Greek god associated with light, was found during the excavations in the ancient city of Prusias ad Hypium in northwestern Düzce province. Finally, forty-one new graves were discovered during the ongoing excavation and restoration work underway in the Seljuk Meydan Cemetery in the Ahlat district of Bitlis province.

July 2022 in Turkish archaeology

Submitted by Iza on Mon, 08/01/2022 - 09:40

The biggest news of July 2022 for the history and archaeology enthusiasts was the final reopening of two historical locations in the heart of Istanbul: the Basilica Cistern and the Archaeological Museum. Moreover, an Urartian fortress was discovered at an altitude of 3,300 meters in eastern Turkey, and a 1800-year-old statue head was found in Smyrna Theatre in Izmir. Finally, the archaeological excavations were launched at historical Harput Castle at eastern Elazığ province and in Metropolis in the Aegean Turkey.

Domitian Square in Ephesus

Submitted by Iza on Fri, 07/22/2022 - 09:02

Domitian Square is dominated by the Temple of the Imperial Cult and its artificial terrace. This enormous square is bordered from the east by a series of buildings along the so-called Domitian Street. These buildings — the Chalcidium, the Pollio Monument, and the Fountain of Domitian — also demarcate the western side of the State Agora.

This text is a fragment of a guidebook to Ephesus: "The Secrets of Ephesus".

What fate awaits the Apollon Temple at Didyma?

Submitted by Iza on Tue, 07/05/2022 - 17:57

Text and photos by our correspondent from Didyma, Glenn Maffia.

And so it begins, when friends from many a foreign shore start to descend into this timeless ancient Ionian landscape. Full with wonderment and, contrary to the sun-seeking hordes, a thirst for what remains of our shared historic past. Though we have been known to quench the dusty dryness with a cold beer or two in the often torrid heat.