A colonnaded Roman street connected to the sea has been discovered in Antalya, Turkey’s city of culture and tourism.
100 meters of the 800-meter-long road has been uncovered so far.
The street was uncovered during the ongoing archaeological excavations at the Hıdırlık Tower, one of the historical symbols of Antalya.
‘Hıdırlık Tower Surrounding Archaeological Excavation and Observation Terrace Project is being carried out under the supervision of Antalya Museum Directorate and KUDEB.
Hıdırlık Tower is a cylindrical tower built in the 2nd century on the Kaleiçi city walls of Antalya. Although the exact date of the tower is unknown, it is thought to have been built during the reign of Roman Emperor Hadrian.,
The tower is 14 meters high, square at the bottom and cylindrical at the top. A small room and frescoes were found on the lower floor. On the upper floor, there is a sightseeing area around a very thick wall mass. A staircase leads to the upper floor through a passage.
Stating that 100 meters of the colonnaded street has been unearthed so far, Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Survey Project Branch Manager Ezgi Öz said, “It is one of the important findings of Kaleiçi. It extends to Üçkapılar and we found its connection to the sea.”
Excavations also uncovered mosaics of a bathhouse, a Cretan Ice Factory and a villa.
Ezgi Öz ” The street is one of the most important findings of Kaleiçi. It extends all the way to Üç Kapılar. Here we found its connection to the sea. We are actually raising that street. We think the road is approximately 800 meters long. We have reached about 100 meters of it so far.”
Cretan Ice Factory
Öz stated that the Cretan Ice Factory, one of the structures that emerged, belongs to the young Republican Period and said, “A canal was opened right next to it. Of course, this is Antalya and the weather is hot. It is an important facility established for the preservation of food and beverages. It also gives us done about industrialization in the past.”
Cover Photo: Antalya Metropolitan Municipality
