A Byzantine-era church, graves, and inscriptions have been found during excavations carried out in the ancient city of Kaunos, which was included on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2014.
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| Archaeologists work on the Byzantine Church found in the Roman Basilica in the ancient city of Kaunos, Muğla, southwestern Turkey [Credit: AA] |
The ancient city is located in the western Turkish province of Muğla’s Dalyan district and on the right bank of the Dalyan Stream that connects Köyceğiz Lake to the Mediterranean Sea.
According to UNESCO, it was the capital of the “Kaunos region” between Caria and Lycia until the beginning of the 4th BC.
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| Aerial view from the Roman Basilica in the ancient city of Kaunos, Muğla, southwestern Turkey [Credit: AA] |
In today’s context, the coastal area, starting from the south plains of Muğla province and extending through the mountains between Muğla and the Mediterranean province of Antalya, was under the sovereignty of Kaunos that kept these borders until the 4th century BC but then lost its status as sovereign state after the Persian invasion.
The city was constructed on terraces, significant religious structures like Baselius Kaunios Temple, Apollon Sanctuary, and Demeter Sacred Rocks on one side and bath, theater, and other structures including Palaestra on a large terrace called the Upper City, on the other.
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| General view from the Roman Basilica in the ancient city of Kaunos, Muğla, southwestern Turkey [Credit: AA] |
The excavations that started in the region with the efforts of Baki Öğün in 1966 were later led under the chairmanship of his student Cengiz Işık and lasted until 2020. Işık’s student Ufuk Çörtük took over the excavations’ leadership this year.
Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, Çörtük said the ancient city became famous for many “first breakthroughs,” such as the rotary curtain system in the ancient theatre, the piggy bank for donations to the gods, world-famous rock tombs, as well as the Carian-Greek bilingual inscriptions.
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| Byzantine grave found in the Roman Basilica in the ancient city of Kaunos, Muğla, southwestern Turkey [Credit: AA] |
He emphasized that the excavations in Kaunos have been carried on by the Turkish scientific delegation for the past 55 years. “Excavations in the ancient city have been taking place in the Roman basilica bordering the western side of the port Agora for the last three years. During the excavations, we carried out in the basilica, which dates back to the 2nd century AD, we encountered a Byzantine church,” Çörtük said.
He explained that the Roman basilica is a gigantic structure, 98 metres long and 22 metres wide. “We continue the excavations in the church that was unearthed. During our work in the church, we came across the tomb, which most likely belongs to the church’s priest, and has very fine workmanship. This tomb contains at least three-four burials in a row. So, it has a very interesting structure,” he said.
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| Byzantine grave found in the Roman Basilica in the ancient city of Kaunos, Muğla, southwestern Turkey [Credit: AA] |
He added that two more Byzantine graves were found in the place adjacent to the western wall of the church. The excavations head underlined that two huge blocks were also unearthed in the eastern part of the church. “There are inscriptions on them. It is among the important troves of this year. Work is underway to fully understand the inscription,” he said, adding that the Greek inscription “is not so easy” to read.
Kaunos “sheds light on the unknowns of archaeology” and very important historical structures were unearthed in the city in half a century, Çörtük also noted.
Source: Anadolu Agency [October 22, 2021]
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