Ancient house ruins found in Hierapolis
DENİZLİ
During excavations carried out this year in the ancient city of Hierapolis in Pamukkale, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the remains of two houses, which are said to date back to the founding years of the city, have been unearthed.
The excavations that started in 1957 in the ancient city of Hierapolis, which was founded by the Pergamon King Eumenes II in the 2nd century B.C., continue under the direction of Professor Grazia Semeraro from Salento University.
A team of 30 archaeologists, restorers and architects from the universities of Salento, Messina, Florence, Pamukkale and Amasya participate in the work in the field.
This year, excavations and restorations continue at many points such as the Apollo Sanctuary, the Monumental Fountain, the houses near the theater and the mass grave area.
Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Semeraro said they are carrying out extensive maintenance work in the main monuments in the ancient theater and St. Philippus Sanctuary, which are heavily visited by tourists.
Stating that the ancient people did not abandon the ancient city of Hierapolis and the Lykos Valley despite the earthquakes, Semeraro said that they continued to build new earthquake-resistant monuments in the region.
Stating that they understood from a round millstone that the city was a rural settlement and olive oil production center during the Middle Ages, Semeraro said that people continued to produce olive oil in Hierapolis at that time and that the city was an important agricultural center.
Noting that they discovered important finds in the excavation area in the northern part of the city, near the great agora and the second theater of Hierapolis, Semeraro said: “The finds belong to the Hellenistic period. We think that the houses belong to the years when Hierapolis was founded. We found the remains of two large and really important buildings.”
“We estimate that the small houses are for four to seven people. This structure is covered with the Byzantine-era layers and the entire area was used as a mass grave. We also found many small objects produced in Hierapolis, such as pottery with beautiful relief figures, coins, oil lamps and glazed vases that represent a subtle testimony of daily life in this extraordinary city,”
Providing information about the finds in the ancient city during the excavations, Semeraro said, “We obtained very interesting data from the oldest and lesser-known phases of the city, which we think are dated to the Hellenistic period. This period corresponds to the time when Hierapolis was founded by the Seleucids or the Attalos. Both royal families are descended from the generals of Alexander the Great. Also, at the Monumental Fountain Site, we found a big wall of blocks dating back to the 2nd century B.C. “
