December 7, 2024 The sun rises from Anatolia

Mosaics created with the opus tessellatum technique have been uncovered during the excavations at the ancient city of Olympos

In the ancient city of Olympos in the Kumluca district of Antalya, ongoing excavations in 26 different locations have revealed many mosaics created using the opus tessellatum technique.

Olympos, in the Lycian period, was the second important port city after Phaselis. The city takes its name from Mount Tahtalı, which is one of the western extensions of the Taurus Mountains, located 16 kilometers to the north, with an elevation of 2,375 meters. Although the exact founding date is not known, Olympos is mentioned on the coins of the Lycian League minted around 167-168 BC, and it is one of the six cities in the Lycian League with three voting rights.

The excavations at the ancient city of Olympos are ongoing under the leadership of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gökçen Öztaşkın.

The mosaics created using the opus tessellatum technique have established Olympos as an important center for floor pavements within the Lycian region.

This season, the excavations focused on the Episcopal Palace, Church No. 3, the Monumental Tombs of the Harbor, the Theater, the Necropolis, and the North Harbor Street have revealed a preference for mosaic compositions in the opus tessellatum technique with botanical, geometric, animal, and human figures in the floor pavements of the ancient city.

In the mosaic works found in the areas surrounding the peristyle of the Episcopal Palace, scenes such as refrigerium (refreshment), thalassa (sea), gaia (earth), ktisis (creation), truphe (luxury), kharis (grace, beauty), and apolausis (enjoyment) personifications have been brought to light.

In the atrium porticos of Church No. 3 in the ancient city of Olympos, personifications of andreia (courage) and dikaiosyne (justice) have been identified.

Experts have also surmised that in the church’s atrium, there is a personification of the “Seven Virtues.” Additionally, in the vaulted burial chamber floor of the monumental tombs of the Harbor, where Captain Eudomos’ sarcophagus is housed, they have uncovered a mosaic depicting a scene of lion hunting, and in the entrance section of the burial chamber, there is a mosaic illustrating a ship entering a harbor.

Banner
Related Articles

Unprecedented necropolis site found in Cappadocia

July 7, 2024

July 7, 2024

In Cappadocia, famous for its fairy chimneys, a necropolis area with a different type of grave that has never been...

Unique colorful Skylla Group sculptures discovered in the ancient city of Laodikeia

August 3, 2024

August 3, 2024

Unique colorful Skylla Group sculptures were discovered in the ancient city of Laodikeia in Denizli province of Türkiye. The ancient...

Thousands of artifacts smuggled abroad brought back to Türkiye

April 14, 2024

April 14, 2024

Türkiye has managed to recover thousands of cultural artifacts that it has been tracking since 1980. Historical artifacts smuggled abroad...

Surveys begin at 1001 churches frequented by Christian pilgrims traveling from Europe to Jerusalem

April 24, 2024

April 24, 2024

Surveys before archaeological excavations have begun in the area known as 1001 churches, visited by Christian pilgrims traveling from Europe...

Twelve pipes that supplied water to the ancient city of Antiocheia have been uncovered from the Late Roman Period

October 16, 2024

October 16, 2024

In the ongoing rescue excavations at the ancient city of Antiocheia, located in Hatay province in southern Türkiye, twelve pipes...

In the Hattusa excavations, a decoration piece made of 2,800-year-old elephant ivory was discovered

November 13, 2023

November 13, 2023

A decoration piece made of 2,800-year-old ivory was found during the ongoing excavations in Hattusa (today Boğazköy), the capital of...

A dome has been constructed for the restored St. George Church in Diyarbakır

October 18, 2024

October 18, 2024

The dome of the 1,600-year-old St. George Church in Diyarbakır, which was heavily damaged in the recent major earthquakes in...

At the Çorakyerler excavations, 100 fossils dating back 8.5 million years were uncovered

August 19, 2023

August 19, 2023

In the “Çorakyerler Vertebrate Fossil Locality” in Çankırı, approximately 8.5 million-year-old 100 fossils belonging to vertebrate animals were discovered during...

Restoration of 2,800-year-old water cistern in eastern Türkiye completed

August 24, 2024

August 24, 2024

The restoration of the 2,800-year-old Urartian water cistern unearthed in Harput Castle in Elazığ province in the Eastern Anatolia Region,...

A 1700-year-old statue of Pan unearthed during the excavations at Polyeuktos in İstanbul

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2023

The 1700-year-old statue of Pan was unearthed during the excavations conducted by İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Cultural Heritage...

Stones inscribed with Allah in Arabic found in Byzantine church ruins

May 6, 2024

May 6, 2024

Stones inscribed with ‘Allah’ in Arabic were found among the ruins of a Byzantine church in the 1001 churches region...

1000-year-old churches carved into rock in Erdemli Valley opened to visitors

March 19, 2024

March 19, 2024

Erdemli Valley with 1000-year-old rock churches and structures in Yeşilhisar district of Kayseri was opened to visitors. The canyon in...

Gaziantep Castle, which was damaged in the Kahramanmaraş earthquake, is being restored

September 7, 2023

September 7, 2023

Restoration work has commenced at Gaziantep Castle, which was damaged in the earthquake centered in Kahramanmaraş with a magnitude of...

Rare talismanic healing bowl found in Hasankeyf excavations

December 4, 2023

December 4, 2023

During the ongoing excavations in Hasankeyf Mound, one of the oldest Neolithic settlements in Anatolia, an 800-year-old talismanic bowl used...

A 9-million-year-old saber-toothed cat skull fossil, thought to be the first of its kind in the world, has been found

July 31, 2024

July 31, 2024

In the excavation, which was attended by paleoanthropologists, paleontologists, geologists and students from various universities, a 9-million-year-old saber-toothed cat skull...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *