Tripolis to promote Buldan’s textile

DENİZLİ

AA photos

A figurative fresco and a male statue have been unearthed during excavations in the ancient city of Tripolis, located in the western province of Denizli’s Buldan district.

Associate Professor Bahadır Duman of Pamukkale University, who is leading the excavation team, said the restoration and excavation process had been underway on four different sites in Buldan since June 9. The excavation team is made up of eight archaeologists, one restorer, one crane operator, one cook, 25 workers and 12 students from the archaeology departments of various universities in Turkey. 

Professor Duman said the figurative fresco was unearthed inside the Vaulted Structure in the north side of the Arched Structure, adding the fresco had two panels and four portraits inside the panels and work would continue on at the northern, southern and western walls of the structure.

Meanwhile, one of the most important artifacts discovered was a 1.63-meter-high marble male statue.

“The statue is in the excavation house depot and the head of another statue has also been found during our excavation of the site. This shows us the street was decorated with statues at certain times [during the city’s past],” Duman said, adding the statue was separated into two parts at the waist and its head could not have survived.

During last year’s excavations, the team also uncovered a church that is 1,500-years-old. The church is 21 by five meters in size and seven meters in height and was constructed using travertine stones from the region.

Located next to the market place, the church was in good condition until its roof caved in and damaged parts of the structure. Following the incident, the roof was repaired and covered with a wooden material that resembles the original structure.

Closed bazaar to revive with textile products

A 2,000-year-old market place, which has been unearthed in the ancient city, will be revived with Buldan’s famous textile products. Aside from the historic church, the centuries-old vaulted market place draws great attention to the city’s past.

The excavation team reached the 500-squaremeter market place and they aim to bring back to life the ancient weaving looms in the city.

“Ancient production and shopping habits will be revived in the market place. This will be a significant step for promoting the area [to tourists],” Duman said

While visiting the ancient city, Denizli Mayor Abdülkadir Demir said when the works are done, Buldan would regain its historic important.

“Buldan is famous both for its civil architecture and handmade textile. When it is merged with tourism, this area will benefit greatly. We can easily market products in this area [to attract tourists to Buldan].
We need to organize textile fashion shows [in the city]. In previous years, we did not have all these artifacts here in the city,” Demir said.