Rome is unearthed during the rescue excavation in the dam area in Balıkesir. The artifacts unearthed will be exhibited at Balıkesir Kuva-yi Milliye Museum.
Excavations are being carried out in order to save the ancient city ruins in the water retention area of the Reşitköy Dam, which is under construction by the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) in Burhaniye district of Balıkesir. During the surface surveys for the construction of the dam in 2015-2016 near Tahtacı District, 10 kilometers south of the Adramytteion Ancient City, ruins of a late antique settlement were found in the Çingentarla location.During the rescue excavation launched approximately 9 months ago by the Adramytteion Research delegation in this region under the direction of the Balıkesir Kuva-yi Milliye Museum Directorate of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, an ancient settlement dating back to the late Roman and early Byzantine periods, dating back to the 4th and 7th centuries, was reached. During the excavation in the area that will be flooded by the dam, the teams found a two-phase church, a baptistery, environmental tombs, rock-carved tombs, storage areas for agricultural production, a high-capacity winery and a ceramic kiln.The artifacts unearthed will be exhibited at Balıkesir Kuva-yi Milliye Museum. Head of Adramytteion Research, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Department of Archeology, Dr. Lecturer Member Hüseyin Murat Özgen told the AA correspondent that the largest and earliest known church, 15 meters wide and 25 meters tall, was found in the Edremit Bay region in rural areas where agricultural activities were continued in the early Byzantine period after the transition to monotheistic religion in Late Antiquity. .Özgen stated that the area where the finds were found was within the influence area of the Adramytteion Ancient City, known as „Edremittene“, which gave its name to the bay. Stating that there are approximately 60 graves, many of them in the form of multiple burials, and commercial areas related to agriculture, around the church, which also has a baptistery, Özgen continued: „The two-phase church with a mosaic floor covers a very large area. There are many material cultures such as ceremonial crosses and hangers related to rituals from the church complex.“ In addition to the products, many finds that provide us with data about the period were also found in the surrounding graves. 100 meters away, commercial spaces begin. These are our findings belonging to the agricultural industry, which evaluate the agricultural potential of the environment and the organization and production phases. „There are weights, scales, etc. Apart from that, there are large pithos storage containers and findings of tools used in different agricultural activities.“Hüseyin Murat Özgen stated that the large-capacity wine workshop, among the new findings, was preserved as a cistern profiled for the purpose of settling the sediment at the bottom with its accumulation basin. Explaining that the ceramic workshop and the rock tombs on the north side were among the documented findings due to the deformation of the hill, Özgen stated that within the scope of the rescue excavation, there was also an area belonging to the late Byzantine and early Ottoman periods located close to these structures.Stating that Reşitköy was abandoned in the 1970s, but there were ruins of an older village settlement and mill that were recorded in the Ottoman yearbooks, Özgen said, „Therefore, together with our Museum Directorate, we are doing our best to document the concrete findings that convey to us the cultural process here in a multi-dimensional way, without losing any data in the history of the region.“ .“ said. Archaeologist Filiz Gürbuğa, excavation representative of the museum directorate, also informed that the area that will remain in the water retention reserve area of the dam under construction has been determined and registered by the Balıkesir Cultural Heritage Preservation Regional Board. Stating that the board decided to carry out a rescue excavation in the area that will be submerged, Gürbuğa said, „A two-year rescue excavation protocol was carried out between Balıkesir DSI 25th Regional Directorate and the Kuva-yi Milliye Museum Directorate. A place that will be completely submerged in the middle of the water collection basin. „Our priority area was the Çingentarla location due to its location and the fact that there were illegal excavations in its previous history.“ he said.
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