17 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

1900 years old a Customs Inscription from the Lycian civilization reveals Anatolia’s strategic importance in maritime trade

A Customs Inscription from the Lycian civilization, located in Andriake port in the southern province of Antalya’s Demre district, tells about ancient times, and also reflects the importance of Türkiye’s geographical location in maritime trade thousands of years ago.

The Ancient City of Andriake is 5 km away from the Demre district of Antalya. It was one of the most important ports of Lycia, such as Phaselis and Patara, in ancient times. It is known as the port of the Ancient City of Myra and a settlement formed by it, rather than being a separate city.

The inscription, discovered in the vicinity of the largest Granarium in the Mediterranean, named after Emperor Hadrian (Horrea Hadriani), contains information about the Lycian Union Customs Laws, port usage rules and taxes, and those who brought goods through maritime trade.

The Lycian League was founded with 23 cities along the Mediterranean’s Teke Peninsula. The league, known as history’s first democratic union, served as a model for modern democratic systems. Patara (the capital), Xanthos, Pinara, Olympos, Myra, and Tlos were among the major cities of this federation.

The excavations of the ancient port of Andriake began in 2009. Professor Nevzat Çevik, the excavations’ director, stated that after discovering the inscription, they deepened the excavations in that direction.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Photo: İHA

“Understanding a port, especially the customs part, is a very important thing. We are following traces. We are trying to examine these traces both archaeologically and epigraphically with Associated Professor Burak Takmer, who is studying this famous inscription as his doctoral thesis,” Çevik said.

While various structures such as the Granarium, Agora, baths, port shops, honorary monuments, five churches, shipyards were mostly unearthed during the excavations, the customs inscription is the focus of this year’s work.

Takmer clarified the dating of the monument by determining that C. Licinius Mucianus, who is known to have been the Governor of the Lycian province during the reign of Emperor Nero, was mentioned in the third line.

The first nine lines of the inscription, which is dated between 60-63 A.D. and consists of 87 lines, could not be evaluated accurately because the lines were severely damaged. However, the general content of the inscription was clarified that it contains the Customs Law of the Lycian State. The inscription contains articles of law on how the port will be used, how the taxes will be paid and what goods will be shipped.

Speaking about the latest developments regarding the Andriake excavations, Çevik said that following the restoration work, the area turned into the Lycian Civilizations Museum, which is a great source of happiness for an archaeologist.

Photo: İHA

Çevik stated that this year’s excavations continue in the Customs area and on Agora Street, and said, “A large inscription dating back to the reign of Emperor Nero, erected in 63 A.D., was found here. It is the Customs Laws of the Lycian Union. We are digging the structure of this inscription and the street where it is located. Since understanding the customs of a port is very important, we are pursuing new traces.”

Çevik also underlined that the Andriake Port was an important port not only for Myra but also for the Lycian period.

“There is a 2,307-square-meter Granarium named after Emperor Hadrian, which is the largest silos of the ancient Mediterranean. The fact that the Customs Laws of the Lycian Union was found in Andriake shows that it was the central port and the union’s fleet was probably located here,” Çevik added.

Related Articles

Rare 2,800-year-old Assyrian Scarab Seal-Amulet Found in Tabor Nature Reserve

12 February 2024

12 February 2024

A hiker in northern Israel found a rare scarab seal-amulet from the First Temple period on the ground in the...

7500-year-old idol of Goddess Asherah located in Israel

22 May 2022

22 May 2022

Archaeologists excavating an ancient cemetery in Israel have discovered an idol they believe belongs to the goddess Ashera at a...

Crowned figure holding a 13th-century falcon found in Oslo

17 December 2021

17 December 2021

Archaeologist Ann-Ingeborg Floa Grindhaug discovered a three-inch-long figure carved from bone or antler amid the ruins of a fortified royal...

1419-year-old Islamic inscription found in Saudi Arabia

13 June 2022

13 June 2022

Saudi Arabia has announced a new archaeological discovery in Makkah. The Islamic inscription found dates back 1419 years to the...

A cave complex with hieroglyphs and Varangian symbols discovered in center of Ukraine

19 November 2022

19 November 2022

An ancient cave complex thought to date from Kievan Rus’ has been discovered in central Kyiv at Voznesensky Uzvoz. Dmytro...

Artifacts used for ancient magic rituals discovered on Darb al-Hajj route from Cairo to Mecca

11 September 2023

11 September 2023

The artifacts, found in the 1990s on the ancient Darb al-Hajj route from Cairo to Mecca, may have been in...

3,000-Year-Old Twisted Gold Torc Discovered in Essex, southeast England

16 July 2023

16 July 2023

A metal detectorist has discovered a 3,000-year-old part of a twisted gold torc in a field near Mistley, on the...

Exciting Discovery of oldest English coin in Canada

16 November 2022

16 November 2022

A gold coin found on the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada’s easternmost province, may be the oldest known English coin...

Archaeologists Unearth Exceptionally Preserved Roman Wicker Well in Norfolk, England

4 July 2025

4 July 2025

A team of archaeologists from Oxford Archaeology has uncovered a remarkably intact Roman-era well in Norfolk, England, revealing new insights...

A rare medieval Christogram Tattoo from Ghazali, Sudan

22 October 2023

22 October 2023

A Polish-Sudanese research team investigating the medieval African monastery of Ghazali discovered a rare medieval religious tattoo in a tomb...

Evidence of the Birth of Archaic Monotheism in Anatolia found at Oluz Höyük, “Havangah prayer at Oluz Höyük”

27 March 2022

27 March 2022

Oluz Höyük, located 25 kilometres west of Amasya, is an ancient city which has rich findings of religious structuring. During...

Archaeologists may have discovered lost settlement of Apancalecan in Mexico

3 August 2023

3 August 2023

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Guerrero discovered a prehistoric settlement spread across 29 hectares...

A 5,000-year-old large house has been discovered in China’s Yangshao Village

7 December 2022

7 December 2022

Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology archaeologists have excavated the ruins of house foundations dating back more than...

Using Google Earth and aircraft reconnaissance, archaeologists identify unknown sites and Serbia’s hidden Bronze Age megastructures

17 November 2023

17 November 2023

Using Google Earth and aircraft reconnaissance, archaeologists at University College Dublin identified more than 100 previously unknown sites. Satellite remote...

The First Native Americans were Among the First Metal Miners in the World

20 March 2021

20 March 2021

An arrowhead made of pure copper 8,500 years ago dates the history of the copper age to an earlier period,...