Archaeologists have uncovered a monumental gate decorated with scenes from the Labors of Hercules during excavations along an ancient street in the ancient city of Side in Antalya province in southern Türkiye, the Culture and Tourism Ministry said.
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said excavations along the approximately 390-meter (1,280-foot) B Street had revealed important evidence of the ancient city’s transformation from the Roman period through Late Antiquity.
“We have brought another one of Side’s magnificent gateways of history to light,” Ersoy said in a statement posted to his NSosyal account.
The newly uncovered Heracles Gate was one of several monumental entrances along the street. It features reliefs depicting the Twelve Labors of Heracles, as well as coffered panels bearing representations of Athena, Zeus, Artemis, Hygieia and Tyche, according to the ministry.
The reliefs date to the early A.D. third century and appear to have been reused as building material when the Heracles Gate was constructed during Late Antiquity, the ministry said.
Excavations have revealed a colonnaded portico, or stoa, dating to the second century that ran east-west along the northern side of B Street. Numerous rooms were located behind it.
Archaeologists also identified three monumental entrances along the stoa, running from west to east: the West Gate, Heracles Gate and North Bath Gate. Door jambs and threshold stones provide additional evidence of the street’s architectural arrangement during the Roman period.
The appearance and function of B Street changed substantially in the fifth century, when the large area north of the street became part of an Episcopal Palace complex, according to the ministry.
Some of the entrances that had previously opened onto the stoa were closed, while new monumental entrances were built along the northern portico. The route was transformed into a grand urban axis welcoming visitors arriving in the city through the East Gate.
The excavations are being carried out as part of the ministry’s “Heritage for the Future" project.
