Temple of Zeus discovered in Limyra, Antalya after a 43-year search. Archaeologists have found a piece of a long-lost Temple of Zeus in the ancient city of Limyra in southern Turkey. The temple’s existence has been known from epigraphic sources since 1982, but its exact position was previously unknown.
The temple was discovered in the western portion of the site in Antalya’s Finike district during the excavation, which was overseen by Associate Professor Kudret Sezgin and conducted in collaboration with the Austrian Archaeological Institute. Located at the base of Mount Toçak, Limyra is a major city in eastern Lycia that is well-known for its theater, colossal buildings, and rock-cut tombs.
According to Sezgin, the Lycian King Pericles carried out significant building projects in the city, and archaeological evidence indicates that the first urbanism in Limyra dates back 2,400 years. The new finding, he continued, was made during the team’s first season operating under the site’s new coordination.
“We found the temple structure that has been known from epigraphic sources since 1982 but whose location could not be identified for years,” Sezgin said. “Archaeological data indicate that the building is the Zeus Temple constructed in the classical period. We know clearly from written sources that Zeus was the city’s chief deity in the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods. It was known that there was a temple but not where it stood.”
The main entrance and anta walls of the temple’s eastern façade were revealed by the crew. The width of the front is fifteen meters. According to Sezgin, the sacred chamber is currently located beneath a privately owned orange grove, and a Byzantine fortress wall was later constructed over the temple. After expropriation is finished, excavations will continue.
The location has been inhabited for 5,000 years, according to ceramics discovered at the temple. A fresh assessment of Limyra’s urban design was also spurred by the finding. According to Sezgin, the wall that was once thought to be a Hellenistic fortress was actually the temple’s border wall, and the massive gate that was previously located beneath Roman Street most likely functioned as the propylon, or main entrance, to the temple’s sacred precinct.
Source: Hurriyet Daily News
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