According to a Turkish official, the recent excavation of the ancient city of Aizanoi’s agora in western Turkey is set to bring fresh insights into the city’s trade life. Kutahya Governor Ali Celik mentioned that the excavation work in the area has gained significant momentum lately.
Governor Celik revealed that they will uncover a significant number of shops in the ancient bazaar, called Agora, this year. The excavation work has already commenced, and efforts in this area have been intensified. Specifically, they expect to fully excavate and study five shops in the agora by the end of this year.
The integration of the uncovered agora with the Temple of Zeus, trade areas, and other monumental structures is crucial. It will offer valuable insights into Aizanoi’s commercial life. In fact, Governor Celik emphasized this significance.
Situated 57 kilometres (35 miles) away from the city centre of Kutahya, the ancient site enjoyed its golden age during the second and third centuries AD and later became a significant centre of the episcopacy in the Byzantine era, as documented by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry’s website. Recent excavations around the Temple of Zeus have revealed the presence of various settlement levels dating back as far as 3000 BC, and the Roman Empire took over the site in 133 BC. Once again, European travellers rediscovered the site in 1824.
Between 1970 and 2011, the German Archaeology Institute did past excavations. They dug out several remarkable structures: a theatre, a stadium, public baths, a gymnasium, bridges, a trading building, necropolises, and the sacred cave of Metre Steune. As per the researchers’ findings, the site was used by cultists.
Additionally, in recent years, Turkish archaeologists have persisted in their efforts at the ancient site. They handed over the 2023 excavations to the Kutahya Museum Directorate.
It’s worth mentioning that they inscribed the site in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2012.
