Miletus

Miletos

Türkiye · Aydın

Ancient cityIntermittent excavation
Approximate period3,500 BCE — 1,955 CEAntiquity, Byzantine, Beylik and Ottoman periods See on the map ↓

In brief

Miletus was one of western Anatolia's important Ionian port cities. Excavations have examined houses, workshops and sanctuaries alongside public buildings, providing evidence of production and overseas trade.

What was found?

  • 1Baths of Faustina

    The remains of the baths, one of the important public buildings of the Roman period, are preserved. They show the extensive Roman building activity in the city.

  • 2Ancient theater

    The theater is one of the principal structures around which the Hellenistic city developed, and it remained in use during the Roman period. The later, smaller settlement’s concentration around the theater and fortress shows that the area retained its importance for a long time.

  • 3Archaic pottery

    Cups, plates, and amphoras have been found in excavations of houses, workshops, and sanctuaries. These pieces are used to study local production and the overseas circulation of goods.

  • 4Terracotta figurines

    Painted and unpainted figurines from the Classical and Hellenistic periods have been recovered. According to researchers, their study sheds light on worship practices at different sanctuaries.

  • 5Stamped amphora handles

    Products from Milet and Rhodes are prominent among the stamped handles found in excavations. The stamps and material analyses allow production locations and import connections to be identified.

What does it point to?

The pottery and amphora stamps show that Milet was a port city that both produced goods and participated in overseas trade. Alongside this economy, public buildings and figurines make communal urban life and different worship practices visible.

What did it teach us?

  1. Enabled Milet’s local pottery production and foreign trade to be traced through finds.
  2. Documented the significant presence of products from Milet and Rhodes among amphora handles.
  3. Provided new pottery and figurine evidence for research into recovery after the Persian conquest and religious life.

Images

Miletus Baths of Faustina in 2007 4549
Dosseman · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Miletus - Ancient Greek theatre 01
Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
2010 Moschee-in-Milet
Oliver Kloss · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Record

Culture
Ionian, Roman, Byzantine and Turkish-Islamic
Coordinates
37.5307°, 27.2761°

Sources

  1. muze.gov.tr
  2. publications.dainst.org
  3. publications.dainst.org
  4. Alman Arkeoloji Enstitüsü — Milet seramik ve terrakotta araştırmaları

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12.000

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