Traces of ancient life come to surface in Mobolla

MUĞLA

Excavations have been conducted for the first time in the ancient city of Mobolla, one of the most important settlements of antiquity. Located in the Menteşe district of the western province of Muğla, from the fifth century, the ancient city bears the traces of the traditional Anatolian settlement model from 4,500 years ago.

Adnan Diler, a retired academic from Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, is the scientific excavation consultant of the ancient city of Mobolla, which overlooks the Menteşe district.

The city’s settlement model is completely in line with the Anatolian tradition and there are many rock tombs outside the walls of the city, which were built for defense purposes. There are also castle (stone) houses, dwellings, sanctuaries and vertical rock cisterns where rainwater is collected.

Surface survey works began in Mobolla in the beginning of the 2000s in the ancient city and now excavations are carried out under the direction of the Muğla Museum Directorate. In the first stage of the excavations, the rock tombs have been found in an area in the gate of the ancient city. The entrance gate of the city and part of the city walls have also been unearthed. Work continues in the dwellings along with the excavations carried out in the castle.

The ruins located on the route of the visitors have been unearthed and travelers can also reach the city by car through the İkizce road.

“Works started in Mobolla castle in the 2000s. There was no excavation at that time. We conducted surface surveys for about five or six years. The materials we found on the surface in those years showed that the Mobolla castle dates back 5,000 years. Last year findings in front of the northern walls showed us that there were dwellings just behind the walls. We reached findings there dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries, the Eastern Roman and Ottoman periods. Our goal this year is to unearth the ruins on the hiking route,” Diler said.

Speaking about the history of the settlement there, Diler said that the name of Muğla goes back 2,400 years; it was Mogola and Mobolla in ancient times.

He stated that the settlement was built entirely according to the local Anatolian tradition, and added, “The settlement is on the hill, and it was built for protection purposes. There are tombs outside this settlement and there are civil structures, castle houses, dwellings, cisterns and sanctuaries inside the settlement. We have uncovered some of these places.

Traces of life in the Mobolla go back to the 13th century B.C. In other words, it goes back to the last period of the Ottoman and Byzantine eras. We can say that there is a 4,500-year-old settlement here.”