Floor coverings found in church at Ayasuluk Hill

Archaeological excavations at Ayasuluk Hill, the first settlement of Ephesus in the Selçuk district of İzmir, have unearthed two different floor coverings from earlier periods on the southern cross arm of the St. Jean Church.

A large number of graves have also been discovered during the excavations around the church.

The Ayasuluk Hill and St. Jean Church excavations continue under the directorship of Mimaroğlu, faculty member of Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Department of Art History. This year works are carried out within the scope of the "Heritage to the Future Project."

Mimaroğlu said that the floor coverings had patterns similar to those in the decoration of the mosaic floor covering discovered during the excavations carried out north of the church between 1927 and 1931.

Speaking about the project, Mimaroğlu stated that the Ayasuluk Hill, the first location of Ephesus, where the excavations are carried out, is equal to Apasas, the capital of the Arzawa-Mira Kingdom in the Hittite era.

Noting that the excavations in Ayasuluk Hill in 2024 will be carried out in and around St. Jean Church, Mimaroğlu said: "This church is the tomb of St. John, who was one of the youngest apostles of Jesus and the writer of the Bible. This is a pilgrimage center for Orthodox Christians with a capacity of more than 200,000 visitors annually. The 2024 works are carried out in the southern cross-arm area of ​​the church. Considering the first construction of the church, it is thought that there was a wooden tomb structure on it. It was later converted into a basilica-planned church. It was converted into the cross-plan church that we see today during the reign of Emperor Justinian I. It is known that the same emperor also provided great support for...