An ancient city in western Turkey, discovered by smugglers of
ancient artifacts at an illegal excavation six years ago and recovered
with soil by officials, now waits to be unearthed.
ancient artifacts at an illegal excavation six years ago and recovered
with soil by officials, now waits to be unearthed.
Local officials asked archaeologists to dig the region in Saruhanli
town of the western province of Manisa to bring to light the ancient
city which is thought to be dated from around 3rd or 4th century B.C.
"Six years ago, smugglers found a few pieces of historical artifacts
at an illegal dig here. There were mosaics of a stag's head among them.
But no researches have been carried out since then," Suleyman Cinar,
mayor of the village of Buyukhanli in the region, said.
"We believe that there is an ancient Roman city hidden beneath the soil," he said.
Cinar also said the city could be the outskirts of the nearby
ancient city of Sardis, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia
where the first money was coined in history."
Is this the location where they found the giant statue of Marcus Aurelius not too long ago?
ReplyDeleteI just happened across the article on the bbc.co.uk site earlier today!
weird coincidence if it is... here is a quote: "Fragments of the statue were unearthed at the ancient city of Sagalassos." and the story link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7580745.stm
No, this is a different excavation site. The Sagalassos site has been under excavation for quite some time although the team there is just now unearthing some terrific statues in the bath complex, the latest being the fragments of a statue of Marcus Aurelius.
ReplyDelete