Excavations continue market of Alexandria Troas being revealed

ÇANAKKALE

Excavations at the ancient city of Alexandria Troas, located on the shores of the Aegean Sea, are uncovering a 2,200-year-old market structure from the Hellenistic period.

Located at the exit of the Çanakkale Strait, on the coast of Dalyan village in the Ezine district, Alexandria Troas had a strong economy that grew steadily between the 1st and 4th centuries A.D.
The city, where the population reached around 100,000 at its peak, began to shrink with the weakening of its economy after the 4th century and was abandoned in a process that started in the 9th century.

Among the remains that have survived to the present day in the forum, which is the central part of the ancient city, are a 12-sided structure, podium hall and temple, odeon (concert area), baths and theater.

Excavation work at the ancient city, which is among the sites where the Culture and Tourism Ministry conducts excavations throughout the year, continues with the participation of 15 scientists and experts.

Ankara University Department of Archaeology faculty member and excavation director Professor Erhan Öztepe said that prominent features of the market structure were revealed in this year’s work:
“Immediately to the west of this structure, on its western boundary, there is a structure that provides access to the Lower Agora. This is our market structure, or possibly a new idea. We may confirm this more easily in future work. Perhaps it could also be a city archive structure, but for now, it is most likely a market structure. Since 2020, we have been working to uncover the northern sections of the market structure.”

Noting that the first space of the structure was uncovered on the side of the street during 2020-2021, Öztepe said, “This was more of a transitional space than a shop. Last year, we partially uncovered the neighboring space immediately to the south. This year, we excavated a space whose boundaries or traces we had only slightly observed just below the walking surface last year. In that space, we have cleared approximately 4 meters of fill so far. The boundaries of the four walls of the space have been revealed, and as with the others, we have seen the lintel of the door on the eastern wall.”

Öztepe emphasized the need to excavate an additional 3 meters of fill to reach definitive results.

“This would mean reaching the floor of the space, which, based on current data, could be described as a shop. This is approximately 7 meters below the temple platform in the forum. We are cleaning these fills. If we solve the static problems next year, we will have excavated the interior of this space. Another question, of course, is where the doors on the eastern facade of this market open. Currently, there is a 3-meter-high fill behind them. What was the topography like when this market structure was first built in the Hellenistic period? This is also interesting. During the Roman period, it seems they filled this area and turned it into a flat plateau or platform, but in the Hellenistic period, there might have been a sloped area. For example, there could have been an area leading from the odeon to the market structure because the odeon might have had an earlier usage phase. There is also the possibility that this area was used as a city council building. All these possibilities need more time and scientific data to be confirmed,” he said.

Öztepe stated that the data obtained from the excavation site shows that Alexandria Troas had a dynamic lifestyle:

“The findings from the areas we are excavating provide very important data regarding the size of the city, its population, and the strength of its economy. Accordingly, Alexandria Troas is one of the largest and most significant colonial cities in Anatolia. It was converted into a Roman colony, having previously been a Greek Hellenistic colony. This shows us that the city had a very active religious and economic life in parallel with its population and economy.”