Stratonikeia
Stratonikeia
Türkiye · Muğla
In brief
Stratonikeia, at Eskihisar, is a site where ancient buildings are preserved alongside the village fabric of the Ottoman and Republican periods. Excavations investigate roads from different periods and relationships between buildings, as well as the city's public buildings.
What was found?
- 1Gymnasium
This is a large complex used for physical education. Its scale shows the extent of public space dedicated to education and sport in the city.
- 2Bouleuterion inscriptions
The council building contains Menippos’s calendar and Diocletianus’s maximum price regulation. These provide direct information about the organization of time, goods, and services.
- 3North city gate and fountain
This is the monumental entrance arrangement where the road from the sanctuary of Hekate at Lagina reached the city. The combination of gate and fountain shows the convergence of transport and ceremonial use.
- 4Female statue from West Street
This is a female statue of the Pudicitia type reused in the foundation of the Byzantine baths. According to researchers, it served an honorific purpose; its original display location is not known with certainty.
- 5Ottoman stone-paved streets
These are roads and pavements preserved in the old Eskihisar square and in front of the shops. They document the everyday fabric of the later settlement within the ancient city.
What does it point to?
In Stratonikeia, ancient public buildings and Ottoman streets can be traced within the same settlement. The inscriptions show economic regulations, while reused statues and building stones demonstrate the circulation of materials across periods.
What did it teach us?
- Documented the publication of calendar and price regulations on the walls of the council building.
- Showed that ancient statues could be used as construction material in Byzantine buildings.
- Enabled the ancient city and the later village settlement to be studied together.
Images
Latest news / selected archive
Research published in 2026 presented a Late Hellenistic female statue found near West Street in 2022 that had been reused in the foundation of a Byzantine bath.
Record
- Culture
- Carian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Menteşe and Ottoman
- First modern dig
- 1977
- Team / historical
- Bilal Söğüt; Pamukkale University
- Coordinates
- 37.3131°, 28.0653°
Sources
- whc.unesco.org
- haber.pau.edu.tr
- avesis.hacibayram.edu.tr
- Pamukkale Üniversitesi Stratonikeia Kazısı — Bouleuterion
- OLBA — Stratonikeia’dan Pudicitia tipi kadın heykeli
Nearby excavations
- Sanctuary of Labraunda 25 km
- Medieval City of Beçin 25 km
- Alabanda 32 km
- Euromus 35 km
- Iasos 43 km
- Amos 64 km
- —
- —
- 12.000
From beneath the soil: latest discoveries
- 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 - 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 - 30,000-year-old human DNA reveals connections between distant communities in Europe
The approximately 30,000-year-old genome of a woman from Isturitz Cave in France was analyzed alongside DNA obtained from cave sediments and other human remains. According to researchers, the results show that gene flow occurred between eastern and western communities in Ice Age Europe and that these groups were more connected than previously thought.
Arkeofili ↗ - Terracotta female figure found in the ditch of a 1,500-year-old tomb in Japan
A terracotta female figure retaining traces of red paint was found in the ditch of a burial mound dating to the late 5th century at the Nishikaminomiya excavation site. According to researchers, the object depicts a shaman and is one of the rare, well-preserved examples of early human-shaped haniwa from the Gunma region.
Arkeofili ↗ - Inscribed burial chamber of an official named Weni found at Saqqara
A burial chamber decorated with inscriptions identifying the Old Kingdom official Weni and his duties was found at Saqqara, along with two wooden statues and bronze tools. The finds shed light on the funerary practices of the ruling class of the period; researchers say the tools may have served medical purposes, but their functions have yet to be confirmed.
Arkeofili ↗ - Grave of a child buried with copper objects and 32 ceramic items found in Peru
Copper objects and 32 ceramic items, including depictions of captives, were found in a child’s grave dating to the 6th or 7th century at Huacas de Moche. According to researchers, the richness of the burial indicates the child’s high status and provides new evidence for the use of objects associated with adult rituals in child funerals.
Arkeofili ↗
All excavation sites (389)
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
- Notion
- 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
- Tell Tayinat
- 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

