Roman-era theater comes to life

ANKARA

Around 70 percent of restoration works in the 2,000-year-old ancient Roman theater ongoing since 2020 as part of the Archaeopark Project have concluded.

Being restored in accordance with many international ancient theater reconstruction works, the theater can be used as an open-air stage with an audience capacity of approximately 1,500 people when the work is done.

The Ankara Metropolitan Municipality’s Department of Cultural and Natural Heritage is renovating the ancient Roman theater, located between Hacı Bayram-ı Veli and Ankara Castle in the historical city center of Ulus. The castle’s original structure is protected with appropriate materials with the approval of the Conservation Board.

While the first two rows of the cavea (seating rows) will be completely handcrafted using dressed gray beige-veined Afyon marble blocks and the upper rows will be completely handcrafted using andesite stone plaque, the stage will be covered with a wooden platform on steel.

The techniques used in the restoration of the theater, which started to come to light, are carried out in accordance with the Venice Charter (a set of guidelines drawn up in 1964 by a group of conservation professionals in Venice which provides an international framework for the conservation and restoration of historic buildings), and the placement of the materials used is carried out with great care in the company of experts.

Mehmet Akif Güneş of the Department of Culture and Natural Heritage said they are restoring the theater while preserving its originality in the restoration project.

“The Roman theater is located in the first and second degree archaeological sites. We are currently working on the first Cavea section. Then we will continue with the second Cavea. We carry out our work in accordance with international norms. This theater is one of the important artifacts in Ankara. We expect to finish the restoration by the end of this year. When the restoration works are completed, the stage building will be built and concerts and many events will be organized there,” he said.

There are parados buildings, audience seating areas and a stage room in the Roman theater, which was registered as a protected area in 1992 and has an original capacity of 5,000 people. Many statues and objects were unearthed during the excavations carried out between 1982 and 1986.