Signs of ‘independence’ uncovered in Termessos
Research conducted at the ruined gate area of Termessos ancient city, located within the Güllük Mount National Park in the Mediterranean province of Antalya, has revealed an inscription declaring the city’s independence as well as a text related to “divination and fortune telling.”
Excavations at Termessos, situated in a difficult mountainous landscape resembling an eagle’s nest, are being carried out under the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s “Heritage for the Future Project” under the supervision of Professor Mustafa Koçak, a faculty member at Antalya Bilim University.
As part of the studies, Koçak and Professor Fatih Onur from Akdeniz University’s Department of Ancient Languages and Cultures identified inscribed blocks at the city gate, which had been recorded in documents by foreign researchers who visited the site in the 1880s and were still standing at that time but have survived to the present day in a collapsed state.
The inscriptions, largely eroded and unreadable among the ruins at the gate, were identified and reconstructed through digital modelling and 3D visualization techniques. With the help of various technological tools, the text on the stones was made legible.
