New mosaics unearthed in ancient city of Zeugma

This year’s round of excavations in Gaziantep’s ancient city of Zeugma have ended, as the restoration period now begins Three new mosaics have been unearthed during the Muzalar House excavations in the ancient city of Zeugma in Turkey's southern province of Gaziantep.

The uncovered mosaics were displayed at a press conference attended by Gaziantep Mayor Fatma Şahin and the head of the excavations, Professor Kutalmış Görkay.

Görkay said excavations at Zeugma, which was one of the most important centers in the Eastern Roman Empire, had started in 2007, adding that good progress had been made with the support of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality and İş Bank.

“There are still unexcavated areas. There are rock-carved houses here. We have reached one of these houses and the house includes six spaces. We have also unearthed three new mosaics in this year’s excavations,” he said.

Görkay added that with the end of the excavation season, the most important stage had now started.

“From now on, we will work on restoration and conservation. We plan to establish a temporary roof for long-term protection. We estimate that the ancient city has 2,000-3,000 houses. Twenty-five of them remain under water. Excavations will be finished in the Muzalar House next year,” he said.

The professor said the annual budget for the excavations changed every year, but a total of about 7 million Turkish Liras had been spent on the excavations since 2005.

Mayor Şahin said the region’s history, which included empires such as the Romans, the Hittites, the Assyrians and the Byzantines, was "as old as the history of mankind."

“They did...