2,000-year-old theater street unearthed at Aspendos
A 300-meter section of the 2,000-year-old Theater Street, one of the main streets of the ancient city of Aspendos, has been unearthed during ongoing excavations, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced.
Ersoy said the newly uncovered section enables visitors to follow the historic route linking the ancient theater with the acropolis, experiencing the city’s original urban fabric along the way.He said the excavations revealed a series of ancient shops, a remarkably well-preserved bakery, the monumental eastern gate, statues of Hermes, Artemis, Aphrodite, Eros and Nemesis as well as the Young Eurymedon Mosaic, offering new insights into Aspendos’ rich history.
Ersoy also noted that a Phoenician coin and glass artifacts discovered during the excavations highlight Aspendos’ prominent role in the eastern Mediterranean’s ancient trade networks, adding that efforts to protect and preserve Türkiye’s cultural heritage through scientific research will continue.
The Theater Street, one of Aspendos’ principal transportation routes, extends from the northern side of the agora to the ancient theater, following the valley between the Roman State Basilica and the Temple before reaching the Eastern Square and the city’s eastern gate.
