Monument of roads on way to UNESCO

ANTALYA

The Patara Monument of Roads, 46 blocks of which were unearthed after a fire in the ancient city of Patara in 1993, is set to be restored and become a nominee to join the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The number of blocks in the monument increased to 59 after comprehensive excavation works.

Called the “finding of the century” by epigraphists over its uniqueness, the Patara Monument of Roads is like a map of the Lycian geography and is the world’s oldest known and only road map in the world. The monument is set to be displayed in the ancient city of Patara in the southern province of Antalya in the beginning of 2018.

Erected upon an order by the Emperor Claudius, who turned Patara into a Roman city in 43 A.D., the 6-meter-high monument has inscriptions on three sides and a list of roads in the Lycian region on one side.

“The long-time conservation process of the monument, which is very important in world history, has been finished. This artifact will return to the land where it was born,” Surveying and Monuments director Cemil Karabayram saiD.