22 March 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

Temple of Zeus Lepsynos in Turkey regains its glory

The temple of Zeus in the ancient city of Euromos in southwestern Turkey regains its original splendor with the revitalization of its columns with original materials and architectural methods. The Zeus Lepsynos Temple is one of the best-preserved temples in Anatolia.

Euromos is one of the important cities of Caria – the ancient name for the southwestern portion of Anatolia’s Aegean shores. It was the most important city in the region after Mylasa in ancient times.

Euromos is about 12 km from Milas located in the province of Mugla. The city was named “Eurome” by Roman author Plinius. The name of the city was Kyramos or Hyramos in the 5th century BC. However, as a result of the Hellenization policy of Mausolos in Caria, the name Euromos, which means strong in Greek, began to be used.

The first excavation and restoration work was carried out by Ümit Serdaroğlu between 1969-75. After nearly 40 years of interruption, a team led by Assist. Assoc. Dr. Abuzer Kızıl (Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University) was re-started in 2011 and the work is still ongoing.

The restoration of the Temple of Zeus Lepsynos has also been carried out meticulously in the ancient city, and the repair and strengthening works continue.

Stating that they used 90% of the original architectural elements in the restoration of the temple, the classification works of which were completed, Kızıl said: “There were column drums, column capitals, architrave blocks, friezes, and cornice blocks that we could use on every facade. We documented all of these materials and recorded them. And we are using these original materials in restorations.”

Kızıl also said that they used practices of the ancient period as a basis for their studies. “We made the combinations of the materials by using iron, bronze and lead. As I have previously mentioned, most of the architectural structures we used in the restoration consist of original materials. In this framework, we first installed the lower drums of six columns in their original places. After that, we carried out the removal and disposal of the previously used concrete blocks. In the meantime, the cracks, wear and spalling in standing columns of the temple were also tried to be strengthened.”

Photo: AA

According to the excavation head, they want to show the original state of the temple to visitors coming to the ancient city.

Explaining that they prepared a small number of missing architectural pieces with marble by using the original versions as examples to complete the restoration of the columns, Kızıl said: “All the stone needs of the ancient city of Euromos are supplied from the marble quarries on the mountain rising from the bottom of the temple. Visitors can easily observe how stones are quarried, how they are roughly processed, how they are brought to the temple, and how the last works are done in the temple.”

Photo: AA

The Temple of Zeus Lepsynos was built in the 2nd century, during the reign of Roman Emperor Hadrian, at the foot of the hill called Kızılbayır outside the city. Since 16 of the 17 columns, together with their upper beams, have survived to the present day intact, the people called it Footed. Known that 5 of the columns were made by the physicist and public official Menekrates and his daughter Tryphania, and 7 of them were made by another public official named Leo Quintos.

Work on the ancient city continues with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Turkish Historical Society (TTK), the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, the Provinces of Mugla, Milas, and the Sıtkı Koçman University in Mugla.

Banner
Related Post

A 2000-year-old wooden figure was unearthed in a Buckinghamshire ditch

13 January 2022

13 January 2022

An extremely rare, carved wooden figure from the early Roman era has been discovered in a waterlogged ditch during work...

1,500-year-old mosaic found near the Caliph’s palace at Khirbat al-Minya on the Sea of Galilee

30 September 2022

30 September 2022

Archaeologists from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz uncovered an ancient mosaic that once lay in the shadow of a caliph palace...

Ancient Herpes DNA Points to Oral Herpes’ Beginnings: First kisses may have helped spread cold sore virus

28 July 2022

28 July 2022

The ancient genomes of the herpes virus, which commonly causes lip sores and currently infects about 3.7 billion people worldwide,...

Archaeological excavations started again after 50 years in Tunceli Tozkoparan mound

28 June 2021

28 June 2021

Archaeological excavations at the Tozkoparan Mound in Turkey’s Tunceli province are anticipated to turn the city into one of eastern...

Roman-era Pottery Workshop discovered in Alexandria

29 April 2022

29 April 2022

The Egyptian archaeological mission discovered a Roman-era pottery workshop at the site of Tibet Mutawah, west of Alexandria. The researchers...

Remains of 2 houses belonging to the founding period of the city were unearthed in the ancient city of Hierapolis

5 November 2021

5 November 2021

During this year’s excavations in the ancient city of Hierapolis-Pamukkale in Turkey’s Aegean province Denizli, the remains of two houses...

Iron Age comb found made from human skull in UK

2 March 2023

2 March 2023

Researchers from the London Archaeological Museum (MOLA) determined that an Iron Age comb they found during an archaeological dig that...

Evidence found of Goose domestication in Neolithic China 7,000 years ago

8 March 2022

8 March 2022

Geese may have been domesticated in what is now China as early as 7,000 years ago, according to a study...

Archaeologists unearth human spines threaded onto reed posts in Peru

5 February 2022

5 February 2022

Archaeologists have found almost 192 examples of human vertebrae threaded onto reed posts 500 years ago in the Chincha Valley...

An unexpected shipwreck was unearthed at the Tallinn construction site

18 April 2022

18 April 2022

During the construction of the office building on Lootsi Street in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital on the Baltic Sea, a shipwreck...

The oldest grave in northern Germany 10,500 years old

14 October 2022

14 October 2022

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest known human remains in northern Germany in a 10,500-year-old cremation grave in Lüchow, Schleswig-Holstein. The...

The Worst Torture Device in History “Brazen Bull”

2 February 2021

2 February 2021

Agrigentum Tyranny today is in the provincial borders of Agrigento in the Sicily Autonomous Region in the southwest of Sicily....

China exhibits 2,000-year-old artifacts discovered in Guangzhou

12 August 2021

12 August 2021

On August 10, the National Museum of China launched an exhibition featuring archaeological finds from ancient China’s Qin (221–207 BC)...

The University of Aberdeen is to Return a Benin Bronze

5 April 2021

5 April 2021

Since Nigeria gained independence in 1960, Nigeria has been calling for the return of stolen Benin bronzes (including brass reliefs,...

HS2 archaeologists discover Romanization of Iron Age village in Britain

12 January 2022

12 January 2022

Archaeologists have uncovered a vast Roman trading town on Britain’s HS2 high-speed rail route. Evidence found during a dig of...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *