8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Roman-era structures unearthed in northwestern Turkiye dam site rescue excavations

Rescue excavations at the Reşitköy Dam site in the northwestern Turkiye province of Balıkesir have unearthed Roman structures, including a church, and a baptistery.

The area to be flooded by the dam is located 10 kilometers south of the ancient city of Adramytteion, near the Tahtacı Neighborhood.

Adramytteion Ancient City is situated at the Gulf of Edremit in North Aegean, on the shoreline of Ören neighbourhood of the town of Burhaniye of Balıkesir Province.

Adramyttion (modern Edremit) was a flourishing city in Mysia, opposite Lesbos, overlooking the gulf to which it gave its name. Said to have been founded by Adramys, brother of Croesus, and reported to have been the seat of Croesus before his accession, the city was considered Lydian in origin. In the Roman rearrangement of the area, the city became the seat of administration of customs, portorium.

Photo: Adramytteion Research
Photo: Adramytteion Research

The rescue excavation, which was started about 9 months ago by the Adramytteion Research committee after the surface research between 2015-2016, reached an ancient settlement dating from the late Roman and early Byzantine periods of the 4th to 7th centuries.

A nine-month excavation yielded significant finds, including a church, a baptistery, tombs, agricultural storage facilities, a high-capacity wine workshop, and even ceramic kilns. These discoveries offer a fascinating glimpse into the daily life and industries of this historical city.

Photo: Adramytteion Research
Photo: Adramytteion Research

Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Archeology Department lecturer Assistant Professor Hüseyin Murat Özgen said that the largest and oldest church known to date in the Edremit Bay region, 15 meters wide and 25 meters high, is located in this region.

Özgen stated that the region where the finds were found is within the sphere of influence of the ancient city of Adramytteion, known as Edremittene, which also gave its name to the Gulf.

Photo: Adramytteion Research

About sixty burials, many of which were multiple burials, and commercial buildings related to agriculture were discovered surrounding the church with the baptistery.

Özgen said, “The two-phase church with a mosaic floor covers a very large area. The church complex yielded a large number of ritual-related material culture products such as ceremonial crosses and hangers, as well as finds from the surrounding graves that provide us with data about the period. 100 meters further on, commercial spaces begin.”

Photo: Adramytteion Research

Özgen said that among the new findings, a wine workshop with a very large capacity was preserved as a cistern with an accumulation basin and a profiled cistern for settling the sediment at the bottom.

During the rescue excavation, archaeologists also found traces of a late Byzantine and early Ottoman area.

Ozgen also noted the discovery of a ceramic workshop and rock-cut tombs on the settlement’s northern side, likely due to the natural deformation of the hill. Interestingly, the excavation team also unearthed an area within the vicinity exhibiting characteristics of both the Late Byzantine and Early Ottoman periods.

Photo: Adramytteion Research

Stating that Resitkoy was abandoned in the 1970s, but there are remains of an older village settlement and mills recorded in the Ottoman Salnames, Ozgen said, “Therefore, by documenting the concrete findings that convey the cultural process here in a multidimensional way, we are making our best efforts together with the Museum Directorate without losing data within the history of the region.”

The artifacts will be exhibited at the Balıkesir Kuva-yi Milliye Museum.

Cover Photo: Adramytteion Research/AA

Related Articles

9 Relics of Neanderthal Found in The Guattari Cave

8 May 2021

8 May 2021

Archaeologists in Italy have discovered the remains of nine Neanderthals who were reportedly killed and mauled by hyenas in their...

“Last Rhodes shipwreck” of Roman period found in Turkey’s Fethiye

5 March 2022

5 March 2022

Turkish researchers, a Rhodes shipwreck from the third century A.D. was discovered in the depths of the Gulf of Fethiye...

Africa May not be Where the First Pre-Human First Appeared

22 March 2021

22 March 2021

According to one opinion: About 2 million years ago, our first ancestors moved north from their hometown and left Africa....

Traces of 9300-year-old settlement unearthed near Volcanic Cappadocia in central Turkey

28 August 2022

28 August 2022

During the most recent excavations at Sırçalıtepe Mound (Sırçalıtepe Höyük) in Türkiye’s central Niğde province, archaeologists discovered traces of a...

Researchers Define the Borders of El Argar, the First State-Society in the Iberian Peninsula

18 March 2025

18 March 2025

Recent research conducted by scholars from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology...

1,500-Year-Old Christian Ivory Reliquary Box Discovered in Austria

27 June 2024

27 June 2024

Archaeologists have discovered an exceptional Christian ancient ivory reliquary box in Austria that is thought to be around 1,500 years...

In the Black Sea, there is a “Ship Graveyard” with 2,500 years of wrecked ships

15 February 2022

15 February 2022

The Black Sea is the inland sea lying between Europe and Asia. Blacksea is located in Eurasia, surrounded by Europe,...

2,700-Year-Old Pre-Roman Iron Age necropolis Unearthed in Naples, Italy

8 May 2024

8 May 2024

An approximately 2,700-year-old Pre-Roman necropolis was discovered by archaeologists during excavations conducted in advance of a planned electric power plant...

1,500-year-old baptistery found in Kadı Castle-Anaia Mound in western Turkey

3 December 2021

3 December 2021

A baptistery, estimated to have been built in the 5th century AD, was unearthed in the Kadı Castle-Anaia Mound in...

Archaeologists Discover Rare Boundary Stone From the Tetrarchy Period of the Roman Empire Contains Two Unknown Place Names

21 January 2025

21 January 2025

In northern Galilee, excavations at Tel Avel Beit Ma’akha, about 1.2 miles south of Metula, have produced a remarkable find:...

A new study says genes and languages aren’t always together

22 November 2022

22 November 2022

Over 7,000 languages are spoken around the world. This linguistic diversity, like biological traits, is passed down from generation to...

Anaweka Waka: New Zealand’s Most Significant Archaeological Find Gets a Permanent Home

29 July 2025

29 July 2025

Discovered in 2012, New Zealand’s most significant archaeological find may soon become the centerpiece of a purpose-built wharewaka in Golden...

Divers Discover 2,500-Year-Old Shipwreck and anchors Off the Coast of Sicily

23 January 2025

23 January 2025

A shipwreck dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries BC was discovered in the waters of Santa Maria del...

A Dice Game board from 5th century BC found in western Turkey’s Daskyleion

6 September 2023

6 September 2023

Archaeologists found a terracotta dice game tabla dating back to the fifth century B.C. during the excavations of the ancient...

Folded Gold Diadem discovered in Ancient Burial Urn in Southern India

12 August 2022

12 August 2022

A gold diadem, bronze, iron objects, and pottery were reportedly found in a burial urn at the archaeological site of...