Medieval City of Beçin
Beçin
Türkiye · Muğla
In brief
Beçin near Milas was one of the capitals of the Menteşeoğulları Beylik. The city, where systematic excavations began in 1972, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List since 2012.
What was found?
- 1Large coin hoard
According to the description published by UNESCO, the assemblage found in 2000 contains 60,000 Islamic and 850 European coins. It is an important assemblage for the presence of Ottoman coins alongside different types of currency.
- 2Menteşeoğulları cistern
A long, rectangular, barrel-vaulted water reservoir uncovered in the inner citadel. It shows the infrastructure used by the citadel to store water.
- 3Medieval lime kiln
It was uncovered by excavation beside the towers. It is one of the tangible traces of building material production in the city.
- 4Great Bath
One of Beçin's principal historic buildings. It shows that bathing facilities were also part of public architecture in the medieval city.
What does it point to?
The coins, water reservoir, and production remains make visible both Beçin's economic life and its everyday needs. The baths and other urban buildings also show that the Menteşeoğulları capital was a developed settlement with varied functions.
What did it teach us?
- It documented the presence of Islamic and European coins in the same hoard.
- It uncovered a large water reservoir from the Menteşeoğulları period in the inner citadel.
- It provided material evidence of lime production within the city during the Middle Ages.
Images
Latest news / selected archive
In 2024, a cistern dating to the period of the Menteşeoğulları Beylik was uncovered.
Record
- Culture
- Carian, Byzantine, Menteşeoğulları and Ottoman
- First modern dig
- 1972
- Team / historical
- Kadir Pektaş / Istanbul Medeniyet University
- Coordinates
- 37.2748°, 27.7894°
Sources
Nearby excavations
- Euromus 15 km
- Sanctuary of Labraunda 16 km
- Iasos 18 km
- Stratonikeia 25 km
- Alabanda 39 km
- Sanctuary of Apollo at Didyma 49 km
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- 12.000
From beneath the soil: latest discoveries
- 2,600-year-old mudbrick structure identified beneath the city of Buto in Egypt
The walls of a large mudbrick structure identified through satellite and geophysical surveys were confirmed by a trial excavation. According to the researchers, a layer of sand placed beneath the foundations may have helped protect the structure in the waterlogged ground of the Nile Delta.
Heritage Daily ↗ · Excavation notebook - Celtic woman's grave containing jewelry and animal remains found in Germany
A woman's skeleton, heavy bronze anklets, a sapropelite arm ring, and the remains of a lamb or kid were found in the grave in Bavaria. According to the researchers, placing the animal in the grave as a food offering represents an unusual example of Celtic funerary practices in the region.
Arkeofili ↗ - Cupboard containing personal belongings, childhood amulets and coins found in Pompeii
Grooming items, 38 bronze coins and a necklace made up of at least 24 amulets were found in a cupboard in a house in Pompeii that had remained closed since the eruption in AD 79. The preservation of these objects together provides detailed information about everyday life and personal mementos in Roman times.
Arkeofili ↗ · Excavation notebook - Lead seal of a bishop named Stefan found in Croatia
Excavations on the islet of Lukovac uncovered a document seal bearing the name Stefan and the title of bishop in Latin. According to the researchers, the seal, tentatively dated to the 6th–7th centuries, offers rare evidence of early church administration in a region with limited written sources.
Heritage Daily ↗ - Roman-period sarcophagus of a child buried with toys found in Romania
A wheeled toy horse, a rooster-shaped rattle, jewelry and organic remains were recovered from a sealed child’s sarcophagus dating back approximately 1,800 years in the ancient city of Tomis. The preservation of wooden coffin fragments and the shroud also offers a rare opportunity to study child burials in Roman times.
HeritageDaily ↗ - Roman-period grave found in the seating area of the ancient theater in Gölyazı
A tile-covered grave dating to the 1st century AD and containing cremated human remains was uncovered in the theater of Apollonia ad Rhyndacum. Why the burial took place in the theater despite the city having a separate cemetery remains unknown; the find raises new questions about the use of public spaces.
Arkeofili ↗ - Marble portrait of Antinoos and 13 inscriptions found at Teos
A marble portrait of Antinoos and 13 inscriptions on reused stone blocks were found around the Temple of Roma and Augustus at Teos. The inscriptions shed light on the city’s political and legal relations, while researchers say the portrait and inscription fragments show that the temple was also connected to the cult of Antinoos.
Arkeofili ↗ · Excavation notebook - New prehistoric settlement identified on the shore of the Dardanelles
A newly published study presented Yaylatepe Höyük, identified during surface surveys in 2024, and its pottery spanning the end of the Late Chalcolithic to the beginning of the Late Bronze Age for the first time. According to the researcher, the settlement, which has a visual connection with Asartepe on the opposite shore, contributes to understanding prehistoric coastal connections along the strait.
Arkeoloji Dergisi ↗
All excavation sites (385)
Türkiye
- Acemhöyük
- Aizanoi
- Alabanda
- Alacahöyük
- Amos
- Ani
- Aphrodisias
- Arslantepe Mound
- Aspendos
- Assos
- Ayanis Fortress
- Aşıklı Höyük
- Barcın Höyük
- Blaundus
- Boncuklu Höyük
- Can Hasan I
- Carchemish
- Claros Sanctuary
- Clazomenae
- Domuztepe
- Ephesus
- Euromus
- Gordion
- Göbekli Tepe
- Hadrianopolis in Paphlagonia
- Hattusha
- Hierapolis
- Iasos
- Kaman-Kalehöyük
- Karahantepe
- Karatepe-Aslantaş
- Kaunos
- Kibyra
- Knidos
- Kültepe-Kanesh
- Laodicea on the Lycus
- Letoon Sanctuary
- Limyra
- Magnesia on the Maeander
- Medieval City of Beçin
- Metropolis in Ionia
- Miletus
- Myra
- Nemrut Dağ
- Nysa on the Maeander
- Olympus in Lycia
- Oymaağaç Höyük — Nerik
- Patara
- Pergamon
- Perge
- Phaselis
- Priene
- Sagalassos
- Sanctuary of Apollo at Didyma
- Sanctuary of Labraunda
- Sapinuwa
- Sardis
- Sayburç
- Side
- Stratonikeia
- Tell Atchana – Alalakh
- Teos
- Tripolis on the Meander
- Troy
- Uluburun Shipwreck
- Xanthos
- Yenikapı – Theodosian Harbour Excavations
- Yeşilova Höyük
- Yumuktepe
- Zerzevan Castle
- Zeugma
- Zincirli Höyük — Sam'al
- Çatalhöyük
- Çavuştepe Fortress
- Çayönü
- Çukuriçi Höyük
