Assos
Assos
Türkiye · Çanakkale
In brief
Assos, at Behramkale, is known for its acropolis, Temple of Athena and urban fabric extending across the slopes. A brief excavation took place on the acropolis in 1838, and extensive excavations by the Archaeological Institute of America began in 1881.
What was found?
- 1Architectural decoration of the Temple of Athena
The temple combines the Doric order with an Ionic frieze. Its decorated pieces document the convergence of different architectural traditions in the same building.
- 2City walls and towers
The preserved walls, gates, and towers reveal the city’s defensive arrangement. They allow the settlement’s relationship with the rocky terrain to be traced.
- 3Early Ottoman bathhouse
The bathhouse uncovered on the acropolis includes changing, warm, private bathing, and furnace sections. The preserved underfloor heating and water distribution system documents bathhouse technology.
- 4Inscription from the reign of Emperor Zeno
The inscription on a marble slab reused in the bathhouse concerns the use of rural land, taxation, and legal matters. It is a direct document of Late Antique administration.
What does it point to?
The buildings of Assos show how defense, worship, and everyday needs were organized on steep slopes. The inscribed slab reused in the bathhouse documents the continued life of older building materials in later periods.
What did it teach us?
- Showed that Doric and Ionic architectural elements were used together in the Temple of Athena.
- Revealed the heating and water distribution arrangement of the early Ottoman bathhouse.
- Provided information about rural land management and taxation through the inscription from Zeno’s reign.
Images
Latest news / selected archive
The 2024 excavation results, announced in January 2025, reported an early Ottoman bath on the acropolis and an inscription from Zeno's reign reused there.
Record
- Culture
- Aeolian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman
- First modern dig
- 1838
- Team / historical
- Nurettin Arslan; Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University
- Coordinates
- 39.4878°, 26.3369°
Sources
Nearby excavations
- Troy 53 km
- Pergamon 83 km
- Clazomenae 131 km
- Sanctuary of the Great Gods at Samothrace 132 km
- Yeşilova Höyük 139 km
- Teos 151 km
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- 12.000
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