1900-year-old children’s footprints were unearthed during the excavations carried out in the Ancient City of Stratonikeia in Yatağan district of Muğla.
Excavations in Stratonikeia, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage Temporary List and known as the „City of Gladiators“ as well as being one of the largest marble cities in the world, started in 1977 and continue for 12 months of the year.There are important artifacts in the ancient city, which is important for the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods, as well as the Anatolian principalities, Ottoman and Republican periods.Head of Stratonikeia and Lagina Excavation Committee, Prof. Dr. Bilal Söğüt told the AA correspondent that they have been carrying out archaeological excavations, restoration and drawing works in different buildings from ancient times to the present in Stratonikeia and Lagina, one of the most important cities of the Caria region.Söğüt stated that the 2023 excavations in the ancient city were productive and that they carried out good work on the 100th anniversary of the Republic and discovered many finds.Bilal Söğüt explained that they had uncovered the west street and the latrina (public toilet) for 92 people during the work carried out in previous years, and said, „This year, we started working on the gymnastics and sports sections of the Roman bath next to the west street, the palestra, the apodytorium for dressing rooms at the entrance, and the frigidarium, which is the cold section with a pool inside.“ „This year we completed the excavation of the frigidarium section.“ said.Stating that the frigidarium section of the bath was exposed with the niches of the pools and other sections around it, Söğüt said that they found materials related to the upper cover of the bath in full form, as it was destroyed in ancient times. He stated that they continued. Reminding that they found the grave of the person who was thought to support the bath inside the bath, Söğüt said that in current studies, AD. He stated that they found the materials related to the arrangements of the bath, which was built in the 2nd year, in the same century, in its original form.Emphasizing that they gradually uncovered the Republican, Ottoman, Menteşe Principality, Byzantine and Roman periods in the city, Söğüt said: „We found footprints dating back to about 1900 years ago, especially on the bricks used in the vault among the ruins of the Roman period. These were very beautiful for us. In fact, there were 2 of them. We also found that there were footprints belonging to 3 different children, aged -3. In previous studies, we had been finding different depictions on such roof tiles and wall bricks, but this is the first time we have come across such a footprint. These footprints came from different directions and they were all in the same direction. It wasn’t either. This was one of the good developments for us. Our work there continues. In fact, the sewage water drain system built in the Roman period in the bathhouse is still working. These have been fully revealed in both the pools and promenade areas. Now, when it rains, the water flows as if it were built today. It flows into the sewers and not even a drop of water accumulates in the pools. „This is one of the good and pleasing news.“Bilal Söğüt added that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, Turkish Historical Society, Muğla Governorship, Yatağan Municipality and Pamukkale University supported the work carried out in the city. Here are images from the excavations carried out in the Ancient City of Stratonikeia…
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This is an archaeological excavation in the Ancient City of Stratonikeia in the Yatağan district of Muğla. The excavation uncovered 1900-year-old children’s footprints, as well as many other artifacts from different historical periods. The excavation work is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, Turkish Historical Society, Muğla Governorship, Yatağan Municipality, and Pamukkale University. The images in the slideshow show the various findings and the ongoing excavation work at the site.
