Myra, the 'Pompeii' of Anatolia

The 13th year excavations started in Myra-Andriake, one of the six most important cities of the Lycia, located in the Demre district of Antalya. "The Ancient City of Myra is the Pompeii of Anatolia. An incredible history lies 10 meters below the ground," said Prof. Dr. Nevat Cevik, Excavation Director of Myra.

In the ancient city of Myra, which was the capital of the Lycia for a while, the 13th period of the excavations started.  A team of 30 people, including six scientists from Akdeniz University, Isparta Suleyman Demirel University, and Koc University, is working as a part of the excavations in Myra. The team started to work in the orchestra of the Roman Theater in the Ancient City of Myra.

"We made preliminary preparations for the excavations in the Ancient City of Myra at the beginning of July. After the feast, intensive excavation works began. We first started working in the orchestra section of the Myra Ancient City Theater, where we encountered a large number of findings last year. We encountered important findings belonging to the pre-Roman period, documents and findings that will shed light on history. We continue from the point where we left off last year. We discovered the Hellenistic structures before the Roman theater was built. We went 4 meters deep. We saw the Lycian structures belonging to the Hellenistic period, the Myra structures, together. In our first works, we came across earthenware and terracotta sculptures. This is the first sign that we will have a productive excavation period. We will continue excavations in the workshops in front of the Granarium in Andriake Harbor City" said Prof. Dr. Nevzat Cevik, excavation director of the Myra.

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