Scientists unearth ancient silo in Myra

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay made a symbolic dig earlier this month to mark the start of the excavations.

Çevik told the Anatolia news agency that an ancient wheat storage facility will be unearthed, which will be the biggest wheat storage location in the Mediterranean. "The storage excavation will tell us the trade story of the Mediterranean ports," the professor said. "The storage, granarium, dates back to 2 B.C. and will be our focus. It will be unearthed by the end of this year and will be arranged as a Lycian Museum."

Myra was a leading city of the Lycian Union and surpassed Xanthos in early Byzantine times to become the capital city of Lycia. Its remains are situated about 1.5 kilometers north of today's Demre, on the Kaş-Finike road. Most of the ancient city is now covered by Demre and alluvial silts, as it is located on the river Demre River in a fertile alluvial plain. Today the large plain is almost covered with greenhouses stuffed full of tomatoes. In ancient times, the area was probably farmed extensively, for export and trade with the interior of Lycia.

The date of Myra's foundation is unknown. There is no literary mention of it before the first century B.C., when it is said to be one of the six leading cities of the Lycian Union (the other five were Xanthos, Tlos, Pinara, Patara and Olympos). It is believed to date back much further, as an outer defensive wall has been dated to the fifth century B.C.

The city is well-known for its amphitheater, the largest in Lycia, and the plethora of rock-cut tombs carved in the cliff above the theater.

The origin of Myra's name is uncertain and may be a modified form of a Lycian name, like Tlos and Patara. The name was popularly associated with the Greek name for myrrh and the emperor Constantine Porphrogenitus described the city as the "thrice blessed, myrrh-breathing city of the Lycians, where the mighty Nicolaus, servant of God, spouts forth myrrh in accordance with the city's name." However, Myra does not seem to be known for its production of myrrh, the only product actually recorded is rue.