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Historical Remains Found in School Construction!

The area was taken under protection after the historical remains were found during the foundation excavation for the school construction in Bartin. While many columns and historical ruins were unearthed during the studies, it is estimated that the structure in question was built as a temple in the 2nd century AD. Underlining that they are just at the beginning of studies that could last for years, Assoc. Dr. Fatma Bagdatli Cam said, “We don’t know yet whether this architectural structure belongs to a temple, a street or a stoa.”

Its first foundation was founded by the Phoenicians under the name of Sesamos in BC. The history of Amasra, which dates back to the 12th century, has been home to many civilizations such as Miletos, Cimmerians, Lydians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines and Genoese, was conquered by Fatih Sultan Mehmet in 1460 and joined the Ottoman lands.

Discovered by accident

In the area, which was donated to the Ministry of National Education in 2014 and the foundation excavations for the construction of the primary school began, the remains considered to be historical were found by chance. Thereupon, the construction works were stopped and the area was taken under protection. In 2017, the first salvage excavations were carried out by the Amasra Museum Directorate. Many historical columns and architectural pieces of historical value were identified in the area with the drilling works.

The excavations in Amasra, which has been positioned as an important port city and trade center in history due to its coves that serve as natural harbors, are being carried out with the support of the Ministry of Culture, under the Presidency of the Amasra Museum Directorate and under the scientific consultancy of Bartin University.

With the wide-framed excavations that started in June 2022, many historical columns and objects have been unearthed in the area, which is considered to be a temple. Bartin University (BARU) Inst. Member Assoc. Dr. Fatma Bagdatli Cam stated that the salvage excavations in the region continue with great care and said, “As a result of the architectural structures that were donated to the National Education in 2014 and found during the construction of the primary school within the borders of the Kum district in Amasra, a rescue work was carried out by the Amasra Museum in 2017. And in the soundings, columns and architectural pieces were found in large numbers and no excavations have been carried out since that year. In June 2022, a rescue excavation was started by the Amasra Museum Directorate on behalf of the Ministry of Culture. Rescue excavations continue under the Presidency of Amasra Museum Directorate and under the scientific consultancy of Bartin University.

BUILDING IS NOT COMPLETELY RELEASED YET

Underlining that they are just at the beginning of studies that could last for years, Assoc. Dr. Cam said, “Right now, we are actually at the beginning level. Because the structure has not been fully revealed yet. First we need to find the corner points of the structure. Since we have not yet been able to reach definitive findings on whether this architectural structure, which has very large monumental columns, is a temple, a colonnaded street or a stoa, we need to uncover the entire construction. Afterwards, we need to determine the existence of other structures in the area and continue our work. In other words, this is a start, we can say that we are in the first year of excavations that will continue for years.”

Mentioning that excavations were carried out for the first time to reveal the ancient city of Amastris, Assoc. Dr. Cam said, “We think that this structure started to be built around the middle of the 2nd century AD. This is the first time that a rescue excavation of this size, that is to reveal the ancient city of Amastris, is carried out to reveal such a large architectural structure,” he said.

Noting that a monumental architecture was encountered for the first time in the Western Black Sea Region and that they wanted to restore the building as soon as possible with restoration works, Assoc. Dr. Cam also thanked the Amasra District Governor’s Office for their support of the excavations.

Ece Nagihan

Hi, I'm Ece. I am a writer for Expat Guide Turkey and I strive to create the best content for you. To contact me, you can send an e-mail to info@expatguideturkey.com. Happy reading!

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