More artifacts at Ephesus Museum after renovation

İZMİR – Anadolu Agency

AA Photos

The Ephesus Archaeological Museum, which was temporarily closed in 2012 for the renewal of merchandizing, was reopened last month by Culture and Tourism Minister Ömer Çelik. The number of artifacts in the museum on display for visitors has increased five-fold. 

The Ephesus Archaeological Museum is located in Selçuk, near the ancient city itself, some 70 kilometers away from İzmir in the Aegean province. 

The museum has been completely renovated; colors and lights have been used to highlight the artifacts and new halls were added to the museum. More than 3,000 artifacts which had never been exhibited before have been put on display. 


New hall and findings 

The deputy director of the Ephesus Archaeological Museum, Halil Bölge, said an information hall has been opened in the entrance of the museum, where an introduction film on the structure of the ancient city of Ephesus in 7,000 B.C. and its metamorphosis throughout the centuries can be seen. 

There is also a hall featuring the findings from the city’s ancient fountain. “The sculptures found in fountains which were unearthed during excavations and the plan about the waterway of the ancient city of Ephesus are on display in this room,” he said. 

Bölge said the artifacts found in the houses called the Terrace (Yamaç) Houses, where the rich people of the city had lived, were displayed more extensively than ever before. 
 
“The Terrace Houses are home to a frieze, which is one of the most important pieces in the museum. It is made of ivory and depicts the preparation of Emperor Trajan for the war against the barbarians. Our most precious artifacts are big and beautiful Artemis sculptures, which are the symbol of the ‘Temple of Artemis,’ one of the Seven Wonders of the [Ancient] World. Too many findings from the Temple of Artemis were not displayed in the museum before the renovation. We now display nearly 400 findings from the temple in this museum,” he said. 


From 900 to around 4,000

Bölge said more than 3,000 coins found during excavations or donated to the museum were also on display in chronological order. “The number of archaeological artifacts has increased by five-fold in the new museum. It was 800-900 in the former museum; now it is about 4,000,” he said.

Bölge noted visitors of the museum would be able to see the tissue of the 8,000-year-old history of Ephesus, as well as the lifestyle and interests of the people of Ephesus, the fashion culture of bygone ages and the history of medical science, its relation to the present time and how it survived.