Archaeologists in western Türkiye are uncovering a restricted sacred area inside the North Temple of the ancient city of Blaundos, revealing new details about religious life in a settlement long described as a military garrison city.
The excavation, led by the Uşak Museum Directorate, is focused on a section of the temple once reserved for priests and closed to public access. The area, known in ancient architecture as the temenos, was used for rituals, offerings and prayer.
Blaundos was founded as a fortified settlement after soldiers from Macedonia were relocated to Anatolia during campaigns associated with Alexander the Great. The city is still known for its natural fortress-like terrain, surrounded by deep valleys formed by what is now the Ulubey Canyon and accessible through a single entrance.
Archaeologists describe the site as a strategically designed military settlement, later shaped by Roman and Byzantine occupation layers.
At the center of the city lies a roughly 2,000-year-old temple dedicated to Demeter, a deity associated with agriculture and fertility in Greek mythology. About 200 meters from the city gate stands the North Temple, estimated to be around 1,900 years old, where the current excavation is taking place.
Last season, researchers uncovered a marble structure measuring about 12 meters long, 10 meters wide and 2 meters high built over the North Temple.
This year’s work concentrates on the temple’s inner sacred space, where priests once lived and conducted rituals. Excavation director İlhan Çavuş, head of the site and director of the İlhan Çavuş, said the area was strictly controlled in antiquity.
“The temenos area is a restricted sacred zone where only priests could enter,” Çavuş said in comments reported by Anadolu Agency (AA). “People would approach the gods through offerings and prayer rather than direct contact.”
He explained that worshippers in the polytheistic system of the period would visit temples dedicated to specific deities depending on their needs, such as health, war or fertility.
Researchers say they have also identified Byzantine-era structures built over earlier Roman and Hellenistic remains. According to Çavuş, later civilizations often reused earlier building materials, which both preserved and damaged older layers.
“Byzantine builders used spolia from Roman structures and created simpler architectural forms,” he said. “Our goal is to document each layer carefully, from the Byzantine period down to the earliest remains.”
Excavators are currently documenting and removing later additions to reach underlying Roman and Hellenistic levels. Full excavation will be followed by restoration work aimed at preserving the site’s historical layers.
Archaeologists say the ongoing work at Blaundos could provide significant new insights into religious practices and urban planning in a city shaped by successive empires.
