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.

June 2022 in Turkish archaeology

Submitted by Iza on Fri, 07/01/2022 - 09:31

Among the archaeological discoveries made in June 2022 within the area of Turkey, it is worth mentioning a burial monument from the late Hellenistic period in the Haydarpaşa Train Station in Istanbul’s Kadıköy neighbourhood and 8,200-year-old stone cutting tools from the Yeşilova Mound in Izmir. Moreover, during the excavations around the Red Basilica at Pergamon, an ancient city in western Turkey that is a UNESCO World Heritage site, a geometric patterned floor mosaic was discovered. Finally, treasure hunters revealed a 2,700-year-old Urartian temple in Garibin Tepe in Alaköy, 28 kilometres northwest of Van city centre.

Turkish Archaeological News collects the most important, interesting and inspiring news from Turkish excavation sites. Here's the review for June. Have we missed anything? Let us know by using Contact tab!

Euromos: Restoration of the Temple of Zeus

Submitted by Iza on Mon, 06/20/2022 - 19:14

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

For a number of months I have been reading about the ongoing restoration of the Temple of Zeus Lepsynos located within the antique city of Euromos, approximately halfway between Didim and Bodrum on Türkiye's south-western Aegean shore. It hasn’t made for pleasurable reading from my point of view, I can assure you.

May 2022 in Turkish archaeology

Submitted by Iza on Wed, 06/01/2022 - 11:23

May 2022 saw the discovery of a sarcophagus carrying the title of "Emperor’s protector" in the province of Kocaeli in western Turkey. Meanwhile, in the eastern part of the country, the water level of Lake Van fell, revealing a one-kilometer Urartian road connecting Çarpanak Island to the shore. Finally, archaeologists found an 1800-year-old sewer system during excavations in the ancient city of Mastaura, in the Nazilli district of Aydın province.

April 2022 in Turkish archaeology

Submitted by Iza on Sun, 05/01/2022 - 09:51

Possibly the most thrilling archaeological news from the area of Turkey in April 2022 was the discovery of a Hellenistic cremation tomb in Istanbul’s Haydarpaşa excavations. Moreover, the remains of an 8500-year-old wooden ladder were found in Çatalhöyük, one of the best-preserved Neolithic settlements in the world. Finally, the excavations revealed a huge underground city in southeastern Mardin province’s Midyat district.