Antalya gets one year older in a day
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 10, 2009 00:00
ANTALYA - An unexpected discovery made during construction work has revealed Antalya's ancient city is even older than was believed.
In the excavation of a business center in Antalya, graves from the ancient city of Attaleia were unearthed, dating the history of the southern city to 100 years earlier than previously thought.
Following the demolition of the folk bazaar in the Doğu Garajı district, construction work started on a new multistory business center. Construction teams informed the authorties when they uncovered remnants of an ancient city.
"We expect the excavation works, which started last March at the Doğu Garajı district, to be completed by the beginning of June 2009," said Selahattin Aksu, director of Antalya Museum and chairman of Nekropol Rescuing Excavations. "Before the excavations, it was assumed Antalya’s history dated back to the second century B.C., but the excavation’s findings show that the history of the city actually dates back to the third century B.C."
"One of the biggest ancient cities of Antalya was found in Doğu Garajı. Some five or six graves are lined up in some parts and some are surrounded by a small wall. Some of the graves were dug into the walls, while some others were constructed in the shape of a room," Aksu said.
Aksu also said they planned to open a room in the museum to exhibit the discoveries after the completion of the excavation works.
"Some 361 graves were found during the eight months of excavation. We have obtained very important information from the site, for example, the graves contained buried treasures," said Aynur Tosun, an archeologist responsible for the excavation site.
"Through this discovery, we have access to information such as illnesses from the time, diets and ages, as well as details about their social and cultural lives," she said.
Following the demolition of the folk bazaar in the Doğu Garajı district, construction work started on a new multistory business center. Construction teams informed the authorties when they uncovered remnants of an ancient city.
"We expect the excavation works, which started last March at the Doğu Garajı district, to be completed by the beginning of June 2009," said Selahattin Aksu, director of Antalya Museum and chairman of Nekropol Rescuing Excavations. "Before the excavations, it was assumed Antalya’s history dated back to the second century B.C., but the excavation’s findings show that the history of the city actually dates back to the third century B.C."
"One of the biggest ancient cities of Antalya was found in Doğu Garajı. Some five or six graves are lined up in some parts and some are surrounded by a small wall. Some of the graves were dug into the walls, while some others were constructed in the shape of a room," Aksu said.
Aksu also said they planned to open a room in the museum to exhibit the discoveries after the completion of the excavation works.
"Some 361 graves were found during the eight months of excavation. We have obtained very important information from the site, for example, the graves contained buried treasures," said Aynur Tosun, an archeologist responsible for the excavation site.
"Through this discovery, we have access to information such as illnesses from the time, diets and ages, as well as details about their social and cultural lives," she said.