Hatay sarcophagus in its new place

HATAY

The Hatay Archaeology Museum, which opened in the last week of 2014, is now home to the world-famous Antakya sarcophagus, which had been unearthed during a construction excavation in 1993 and displayed at a special place in an old museum since then.

The sarcophagus, which dates back to the 3rd century A.D., was moved to the newly-opened museum on Feb. 10 under tight security measures.

It was a difficult process to move the 10-ton sarcophagus to its new place. Work to plan the move and protect the valuable artifact was begun weeks ago by archaeologists, restorers and museum managers.

Archaeologist Şule Açıkgöz said the Antakya sarcophagus was a very burdensome artifact. “The sarcophagus has rich decorations and it was very big responsibility to move it to the museum without damaging it.”