8 February 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists Unearth Cisterns at Izmir’s Ancient “City of Mother Goddess”

In the ancient city of Metropolis, in western Turkey, in the province of Izmir, something that played an important role in the lives of the people of the ancient city was unearthed: cisterns.

The ancient city of Metropolis, also known as the “City of Mother Goddess” has been a treasure mine for archaeologists since 1990, when excavations began. From the first settlements in the Late Neolithic Age through the Classical Age, from the Hellenistic Age through the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman periods, they have found signs of many civilizations.

Four interconnected cisterns were discovered during last year’s excavations in the ancient city, which revealed many massive monuments. Two cisterns were discovered behind a 7-meter (23-foot) earth fill in this construction.

The construction, which is assumed to have been utilized to fulfill the city’s water demands during the Late Roman Period, will help to uncover vital information, discoveries, and historical items from the time.

Simple roofs cover the excavation site of cisterns at the classical city of Metropolis in Izmir, Turkey,
Simple roofs cover the excavation site of cisterns at the classical city of Metropolis in Izmir, Turkey. DHA

Professor Serdar Aybek of Manisa Celal Bayar University’s archeology department, who is the head of the excavation team, explained the importance of the cisterns for the ancient city. “(The city) has a deep-rooted history dating back to prehistoric times. The region has had fertile lands since prehistoric times. It has the fertility brought by the Küçük Menderes River. It is a region that has always been settled.”

“The city we are standing on now has been inhabited since the Hellenistic period. It was developed as a planned city. With the growth of the population in the Roman period, new buildings were built. The cistern structure we are in now was built to meet the water needs in the Roman period. It gives us important information about the period in terms of water engineering,” Aybek told Demirören News Agency (DHA).

“It is a structure built in the Roman period. It is located at the highest level of the city, which we call the Acropolis. Therefore, they are able to transfer the water collected in the acropolis to places on the lower slopes of the city more easily.”

“The cisterns have a capacity of about 600 tons of water,” he said. “We aim to reveal the remaining two parts with our (archaeological) work this year and bring this well-preserved and unique structure to cultural tourism.”

Related Articles

Montenegro’s Unique Church With Two Altars is Disappearing

11 December 2023

11 December 2023

In the Spich plain, where the modern town of Sutomore in Bar, Montenegro is located, there were churches that served...

Study refutes previous assumptions, DNA evidence rewrites story of people buried in Pompeii eruption

8 November 2024

8 November 2024

Researchers from the University of Florence, Harvard University, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig analyzed the...

A previously unknown subterranean tract of an Augustan-era aqueduct has been rediscovered in Naples

4 February 2023

4 February 2023

A previously unknown subterranean tract nearly half a mile long of an Augustan-era aqueduct has been rediscovered in Naples, southern...

Ancient tomb chamber discovered in north China

3 January 2022

3 January 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed a tomb with a stone outer coffin dating back to the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) in north...

The altar of Zeus Temple discovered in western Turkey

1 September 2023

1 September 2023

Archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Magnesia, located in the western province of Aydın’s Germencik district, have uncovered the...

Archaeologists discovered the first evidence of early administrative management in eastern Iran

21 June 2022

21 June 2022

Iranian archaeologists believe they have discovered the first evidence of early administrative management in an eastern Iranian province, which they...

In Moravia, archaeologists discover divine thrones, thousands of artifacts and a new settlement

13 August 2021

13 August 2021

During a four-year dig in the Moravian city (Czech Republic) of Perov, rare gems, mysterious burial places, and divine thrones...

A rare Ogham inscription found on Pictish stone in Scottish Kirkyard

8 November 2022

8 November 2022

A Pictish carved stone cross slab with a rare inscription in the early medieval ogham language has been discovered in...

Researchers have found in miniature ceramic bottles evidence of the oldest known use of cosmetics in the Balkans

14 July 2021

14 July 2021

In miniature ceramic bottles from excavations ascribed to the Lasinja Culture in the Southeast Prealps and the Vinča Culture in...

Scientists reconstruct Late Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean silver trade

11 July 2021

11 July 2021

Scientists have recreated the Eastern Mediterranean silver trade across a time span that includes the conventional dates of the Trojan...

Extraordinary Discovery of a Unique Painted Tomb in Tarquinia’s Etruscan Necropolis

1 February 2025

1 February 2025

Exceptional discovery in the necropolis of Tarquinia, located near the western coast in central Italy, north of Rome (a UNESCO...

A unique 2,800-year-old ivory-decorated piece was discovered in the Ancient City of Hattusa

13 November 2023

13 November 2023

An ivory-decorated piece, estimated to be approximately 2,800 years old, was found during the archaeological excavation in the Hattusa Ancient...

İnscriptions in Turkey is Showing How Romans Tackled İnflation

21 March 2021

21 March 2021

The largest marble city in the world, located in western Turkey in the province of Muğla, draws attention with large...

The ability to produce ceramic vessels came to Europe via Siberia and the Caspian Sea region

6 January 2023

6 January 2023

A new study suggests that the knowledge for making ceramic vessels came to Europe from the Middle East and the...

The ashes of 8,000 victims were found in two mass graves near the Soldau concentration camp in Poland

14 July 2022

14 July 2022

Polish authorities said they had unearthed two mass graves near the former Nazi concentration camp Soldau containing the ashes of...