The restoration of approximately 1,600-year-old mosaics in the church at the ancient city of Dülük, one of the oldest settlements in human history and a place that has hosted various religions, has been completed.
The excavation work at the ancient city near the Dülük neighborhood in Şehitkamil district, Gaziantep province, southern Türkiye, is ongoing with the cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the University of Münster in Germany.
Excavation Director Michael Blömer from the University of Münster, along with his assistant Dilek Çobanoğlu and a team of seven archaeologists and 15 workers, is actively involved in the excavations at the site.
While various excavation works continue in the ancient city, which has hosted different religions throughout history, the restoration and reinforcement of the mosaics in the church (basilica) have been completed.
Blömer informed Anadolu Agency (AA) that the basilica was established in the fourth century.
He noted that the area was an important location until the Islamic period, stating: "This is a wealthy church from the fourth century, it is significance lies in its rich mosaic structure, all the motifs in the mosaics are geometric."
"We do not see animal or human motifs because mosaics in early fourth and fifth-century churches were cautious about depicting such figures. However, we see animal motifs in the apse motif, which is because they were added later in the 6th century, by the 6th century, animal motifs were also used."
Blömer added that this year, they focused on strengthening and restoring previously discovered mosaics to prevent their deterioration and emphasized that the ancient city could become an important point for tourism.
