The stage columns and underground structures of the 2,200-year-old theater of the ancient city of Stratonikeia in the Yatağan district of Muğla are being unearthed. The excavation team led by Professor Bilal Söğüt of the University of Pamukkale continues in Stratonikeia, which is inscribed on the UNESCO Temporary Cultural Heritage List.
On this site, works from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Beylik and Republican periods are brought together and many date back 3000 years and are revealed by excavations.
Efforts are underway to ensure that the 2,200-year-old ancient theater returns to its former glory.
Considered one of the largest marble cities in the world, Stratonikeia is on the map of domestic and foreign visitors with its 3,000-year-old historic ruins.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Söğüt said that in addition to excavations, restoration work is also underway.
Söğüt pointed out that Stratonikeia, one of the most important towns in the Caria region, is a settlement owned by the local Caria population and the Lelegians of Anatolia and that the ancient theater in the city was one of the structures the most glamorous with its three-storey building built 2,000 years ago.
A few years ago, conservation work was carried out at the theater by the MuÄŸla Culture and Tourism Directorate with the support of the South Aegean Development Agency. Now the excavation team and students are excavating the stage building at the entrance to the ancient theater.
Söğüt noted that they will check the solidity of the blocks in the theater as they work, place the existing blocks in their original locations while the missing parts are completed.
“The theater, with its stage, was very spectacular during the reign of Augustus.” We will ensure that these structures return to their old glamorous days with our excavations, â€said Söğüt and added:“ We previously opened the oriental parodos. [a side entrance] of the stage building and raised the pillars. Now we unveil the Western Parados section and other stage structures. Once the excavations are complete, we will collect the excavated blocks and present these finds to visitors after the restoration. “
