Underground ancient city to be unearthed

DENİZLİ – Demirören News Agency

A surface survey will be carried out in collaboration with Pamukkale University (PAU) and the Sarayköy Municipality to unearth the underground ancient city of Attouda in the western province of Denizli’s Sarayköy district.

The ancient city, which lies within the borders of the Hisar neighborhood, is believed to have been established as a border city between Caria and Phrygia 2,200 years ago. Within a protocol between the university and the municipality, a team of 27 people headed by PAU Archaeology Department academic Bilge Yılmaz Kolancı will carry out the excavation works in the ancient city.

Stating that they will start working in September, Kolancı said: “We will conduct surface surveys with 27 experts of different disciplines. We aim to complete these studies by 2023.”

“First of all, we will work on the identification of the ancient buildings in Attouda, the route of the roads to the ancient city, and the determination of the sites that are considered sacred in the ancient city. In line with the information given by ancient sources about this place, we know that there are some sacred village settlements, medical schools and temples. These studies will provide us with very important data for Anatolian archeology,” Kolancı added.

Kolancı said that Attouda was a very special ancient city and that it had its brightest time during the Roman Empire. She noted that around the ancient city of Attouda were large ancient cities such as Laodicea, Tripolis, Hierapolis and Aphrodisias.

“Here, we can create a tourism map by highlighting the ancient settlement and also provide tourism diversity by highlighting cultural values. This is a special settlement covered with pine trees and lush green, where people can rest away from the noise of the city. The Ottoman-era architectural structures make Attouda different from other ancient cities,” Kolancı said.