Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine-era settlements unearthed in Ankara

The surface surveys that began in September 2021 in Ankara's Kahramankazan district and carried out by Ankara University were completed last month, aiming to investigate rural Ankara during the Roman Empire and reveal classical period settlements.

A Galatian settlement was discovered in the Asarkaya area of the district's Karalar neighborhood, which hosts significant findings from the Hellenistic period. Also, it was determined that life continued in other settlement areas of the district from the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods.

Ankara University faculty member Associate Professor Çiğdem Gençler Güray stated that the work that started in Karalar was based on the Hellenistic period remains unearthed by Professor Remzi Oğuz Arık in 1933.

"The Central Anatolia region has been inhabited by the Galatians, or Celts, who arrived from the West since the third century B.C. When they settled in this region, they divided the land among tribes. The Kazan region is where we mostly find settlements belonging to the Tolistobogii Galatians. In the excavations carried out in 1933, archaeological data related to the lives of these Galatians or reflecting that period was encountered. Our aim is to better understand and identify the area. We conducted field surveys both in Karalar and the surrounding villages of Kahramankazan," she explained.

"The surveys revealed that Karalar was an important center in the Hellenistic period, before the Roman era, with structural formations, wall remains, and burial findings. The tombs unearthed during the excavations suggest that it was a central Galatian settlement. In other settlements in Kazan, such as Fethiye, Kınık and Dağyaka, we discovered simple rural living spaces reflecting the continuity of life....