Türkiye revives 2,000-year-old main street in ancient Mediterranean city

A nearly 2,000-year-old road connecting an ancient theatre and acropolis has been unearthed in the ancient city of Aspendos in Antalya, in the Mediterranean region of the Turkish Riviera.

Excavations at Aspendos, one of the most important ancient cities of the coastal Pamphylia region, have been carried out since 2022 under the leadership of Mustafa Bilgin, an archaeologist at Afyon Kocatepe University, and have gained new momentum under the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Heritage for the Future Project.

The excavations uncovered some 300 meters (nearly 1,000 feet) of the ancient road linking the theatre to the acropolis, along with significant discoveries including a well-preserved bakery, public buildings, residential houses, a monumental gate, and advanced infrastructure systems.

Speaking to Anadolu, Bilgin said the ancient city, long known for its theatre and aqueducts, will now offer visitors a new experience through its monumental structures located on the acropolis.

Stating that work on Theatre Street is nearing completion after two years of excavations, Bilgin said: “Visitors will now be able to walk from the theatre to the acropolis through an ancient road. In antiquity, this was one of Aspendos’ busiest urban transportation arteries. Along the street, we have largely uncovered public buildings, residential houses, and a monumental gate.”

Bilgin also said that they identified the eastern necropolis of the ancient city outside the eastern city gate, noting that a Classical-era tomb discovered there indicates the area was used as a cemetery since the late fifth century BCE.