Aydın’s earliest settlement waiting to be revealed

Believed to have hosted one of the earliest settlements of the western province of Aydın, Deştepe Mound is waiting to come to the surface as it is positioned among the buildings rising around it in the Kemer neighborhood of the Efeler district.

The panoramic view of the mound, which is thought to have an older history than the ancient city of Tralleis, known as the first settlement of Efeler, also offers a beautiful view.

Mehmet Özçakır, the president of Aydın Antiquities Lovers Association, stated that the mound is in a neglected and unprotected condition today.

"It is said that the mound dates back to the Chalcolithic Age, that is, to the copper age. This hill, where the first settlement in Aydın was located between 5000 and 7000 B.C., is similar to many mounds that existed in Anatolia. Aydın's first ancestors settled in this Deştepe Mound. We know that the first mass settlement towards Tralleis started in the 2000s B.C. When you visit Deştepe Mound, which is not very sheltered, it can be considered to be restored as a beautiful recreation area and ruins to visit in the city," Özçakır said.

"We expect that this hill, where we know that any serious archaeological excavations and any surface research have never been done, will be saved from this state of ruin and included in Aydın's list of places to visit and see. Since many settlements have been built around it, it is also a place open to physical and meteorological damages," Özçakır added.