Geometric and plant motifs uncovered in a roughly 1,500-year-old mosaic at the ancient city of Smyrna located in Izmir, western Türkiye, are offering new insight into how people in late antiquity understood love, loyalty, sanctity and protection.
Archaeological work continues in the “Mosaic Room” discovered last year on the North Street of the Agora during excavations at Smyrna, part of Türkiye’s “Heritage for the Future Project” led by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The mosaic floor, found during infrastructure work in the ancient city, measures about 5 by 2.5 meters (16.4 by 8.2 feet) and features intricate designs made up of interlocking 12-sided panels.
Alongside triangles, squares and other geometric arrangements, the mosaic also includes plant-based motifs, including a striking heart-shaped ivy leaf.
Akın Ersoy, head of excavations and an archaeology professor at Izmir Katip Çelebi University, said work is focused on the city’s theater and agora areas and has recently expanded the understanding of the structure where the mosaic is located.
Ersoy said last year only part of the mosaic was uncovered, but this year’s work revealed the full room as well as an adjoining space. He said the mosaic dates to between the fourth and sixth centuries A.D. and that wall traces defining the space were also identified.
Researchers also found evidence that the area was reused in the 19th century during the Ottoman period, with a later structure built over the mosaic floor without causing significant damage.
Ersoy said the motifs are not purely decorative but carry symbolic meaning. He noted the heart-shaped ivy leaf stands out visually but emphasized that the modern association of the heart with love developed much later, particularly during the Renaissance.
Ivy leaves, he said, were associated in antiquity with loyalty because of the plant’s tendency to cling to trees and walls. Other motifs in the mosaic include the “Solomon’s knot,” interpreted as a symbol of wisdom and protection, as well as laurel leaves representing sanctity and a four-leaf clover pattern associated with faith, love and abundance.
Ersoy said such symbolic layering shows how ancient societies assigned religious, protective and superstitious meanings to geometric and botanical designs, a tradition that continued for centuries.
He added that Izmir was a major center of art, philosophy and urban life during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, making the discovery of mosaics in the city unsurprising – but finding a well-preserved floor in the city center remains significant.
Researchers also concluded that the space was reused again roughly 1,500 years later. Ersoy said artifacts such as bags, pots and clay vessels from the late Ottoman and early Republican periods suggest the building was brought back into use long after antiquity.
“The space was revived after 1,500 years,” he said, adding that the limited damage to the mosaic suggests a degree of conscious preservation by people in the Ottoman period.
