Hellenistic-era library offers new insights into Stratonikeia

MUĞLA

A library from the Hellenistic period has emerged as one of the latest treasures unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Stratonikeia, nestled in the western province of Muğla’s Yatağan district.

Excavation work has been underway for approximately three years for the historic library of great significance, which was initially misidentified as a temple during the first phase of the studies.

Professor Dr. Bilal Söğüt, the head of the Stratonikeia excavations, stressed that the findings indicate the library's distinctive architectural structure, suggesting that it was a prominent building in its time.

Noting that the library persisted until the Byzantine era with the bishop's assistance at the time, he further highlighted that this supports their finding that the library was indeed far from being just an ordinary building.

Söğüt also noted that they discovered a ground mosaic of the library during the excavations. According to the writings found on the mosaic, a master from Ephesus was brought to the city specifically to craft the masterpiece in the 4th century A.D., he pointed out.

Apart from the historic library, the city also boasts the largest gymnasium from the ancient period, a bouleuterion, a bathhouse from the Menteshe period, and a mosque from the Ottoman Empire.

Stratonikeia — one of the most important cities of the Caria region, where Carians and Leleges, the indigenous Anatolian peoples, settled — maintained its significance throughout the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Anatolian principalities, Ottoman and Republican periods.

The artifacts found there are meticulously preserved, and efforts are continuously being made to bring them into tourism, with a historical theater building dating back 2,200 years expected to open its doors to the public next year after restoration work.