Amos

Amos

Türkiye · Muğla

Ancient cityExcavation ongoing
Approximate period1,000 BCE — 300 CEHellenistic and Roman See on the map ↓

In brief

Amos, around Turunç in Marmaris, was built on Asarcık Hill, which extends toward the sea. Renewed excavations investigate the city's settlement layout and the process of its abandonment through its theater and residential areas.

What was found?

  • 1Ancient theatre

    One of the principal public buildings on the city's acropolis. Its seating area and stage building allow the arrangement of the performance space to be studied.

  • 2Destruction remains in the stage building

    Traces associated with an earthquake have been found in the theatre's western wing. According to researchers, the theatre was not used again after this destruction.

  • 3Fortification walls, towers, and gates

    The defensive system surrounding the hilltop settlement. The combined use of polygonal and rectangular masonry in the walls demonstrates construction techniques.

  • 4Land lease inscriptions

    Contract texts found in and around Amos. They directly document the leasing of fertile agricultural land.

What does it point to?

The lease contracts show the role of agricultural land management in the economy of Amos. The defensive structures and theatre make visible public life in a protected hilltop settlement, while, according to researchers, the destruction remains reveal the impact of earthquakes on the settlement.

What did it teach us?

  1. It revealed that agricultural land was managed through written lease contracts.
  2. It documented the combined use of different masonry techniques in the defensive walls.
  3. According to researchers, the findings in the theatre established a connection between earthquake destruction and the end of its use.

Images

Ancient Theater in Amos
Raicem · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Amos CINCIR - Haiti
Dr COQ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Record

Culture
Carian-Rhodian cultural sphere and Roman
First modern dig
1948
Team / historical
Mehmet Gürbüzer / Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University
Coordinates
36.7576°, 28.2689°

Sources

  1. mu.edu.tr
  2. ukaas.ktb.gov.tr
  3. en.wikipedia.org
  4. Cedrus — Amos'ta Yeni Araştırmalar ve Bulgular

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12.000

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