New artifacts revealed at ancient Zeugma site

The excavation of the ancient city of Zeugma, near the town of Nizip in Gaziantep Province, has uncovered some small remnants of sculpture.

The ancient Greek city of Zeugma, located on the Euphrates river in south-western Turkey. Much of the site is now flooded by the Birecik Dam [Credit: Web]

The Zeugma site in general has had very rich season in 2012, the head of the excavation, Dr. Kutalmış Görkay of Ankara University, told Anatolia news agency. The excavation opened in June this year.

“Our main work has been at the Muzos House site, and we also conducted excavations at the Roman House and other areas. Work will continue at the same sites in future seasons. We also conducted research about the ramparts of the city of Zeugma, with visiting researchers from England and Germany,” Görkay said.

Most of this year’s work took place on a hill known as Belkıs Tepe. “We found some parts of cult-related sculptures on Belkıs Tepe. ... Many remnants of sculptures were unearthed,” Görkay said.

The team also built walkways and did landscaping work to make the Zeugma site more inviting. This work was done with the help of the Culture and Tourism Ministry and Gaziantep Province’s Special Administration.

This season’s excavation work at Zeugma will continue until the end of August, Görkay said. Excavation work at the site began in 2005 under Dr. Görkay’s direction.

The ancient city of Zeugma was originally founded as a Greek settlement by Seleucus I Nicator, one of the generals of Alexander the Great, in 300 BC.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [Auguest 23, 2012]