Excavations in the ancient city of Metropolis are continuing at full speed with the support of the Sabancı Foundation and permission and contributions of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The 2022 season of archaeological digs will focus on the historical site's acropolis, agora, Araplıtepe Church and water wells.
The new excavation season in the ancient city of Metropolis, located in western Turkey's Izmir province, promises to make significant progress in illuminating the historical secrets of the site. Carried out under the direction of professor Serdar Aybek from the Archaeology Department of Manisa Celal Bayar University, the digs aim to restore the eastern gate of the Hellenistic acropolis of Metropolis, to completely unearth the agora (city square), to reveal the entire plan of the Araplıtepe church as well as to investigate the water wells that have preserved their function from the Roman period to the present day.
The acropolis of Metropolis is one of the rare examples that shows cohesion with the city center in Anatolia. With the studies in different parts of the acropolis, which has an area of 10,500 square meters and dominates the entire Torbalı Plain with its impressive view, the aim is to create a new archaeological area that can be visited alongside the urban texture this year.
In this context, the monumental cistern structure, which started to be excavated in 2019, will be fully unearthed. At the same time, conservation and restoration work will begin on the 435-meter-long (1,427-foot-long) monumental fortification walls surrounding the acropolis. Projects will be prepared to restore the eastern gate which is the main entrance of the acropolis. As a result of these works, which are planned to be completed in five years, the acropolis area will become a center of attraction for the Metropolis, as in the examples of Athens and Pergamon.
In addition, the mosaics discovered in 2021 in the Metropolis agora will be completely unveiled and arranged for visitors. Archaeological excavations to be carried out this year in the Araplıtepe Church, which is of great importance to the Christian world, will be completed as well. As a result of the studies, it is aimed that Metropolis will be one of the popular destinations in the Christian world.
Moreover, hundreds of ceramic pieces and jugs were discovered in the bottom of a well in the praefurnium (furnace) of the balneum (bathing section) in Metropolis. It is estimated that water supplied from the well with a depth of approximately 11 meters was used in the balneum during the Roman period. Numerous finds found at the bottom of the well show that the well was last used about 1,800 years ago. The recent works in this area will also provide a deeper understanding for balneum.
The ancient city of Metropolis, which is in the process of being unearthed with excavations carried out since 1990, is located between the Yeniköy and Özbey neighborhoods of the Torbalı district.
The history of Metropolis, known as the “City of Mother Goddess,” stretches from the first traces of the Late Neolithic settlements to the Classical Age, from the Hellenistic Age to the Roman and Byzantine periods, the Anatolian beyliks (principalities) and the Ottoman era.
Through the excavations carried out to date, a Hellenistic theater, a Bouleuterion (parliamentary building), a stoa (columned gallery), two bath structures built during the Roman Empire, a bath and palaestra (sports area) complex, a special hall with mosaics, a peristyle house and cisterns that form the historical texture of the ancient city have been found.
In addition, during the excavations of these places, more than 11,000 historical artifacts, including ceramics, coins, glass, architectural pieces, figures, sculptures, bone and ivory artifacts along with various metal items, were unearthed. The artifacts obtained during the excavations are exhibited in the Izmir Archeology Museum, Izmir Museum of History and Art and the Ephesus Museum.
