Ottoman ceramics found in İzmir agora

İZMİR - Doğan News Agency

Ceramic pots and pans used by people living in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries were found during the most recent excavations in İzmir. DHA photo

New excavations in the ancient Agora in İzmir’s city center have revealed ceramic artifacts from the Ottoman period. The excavation area has been enlarged with the demolition of surrounding buildings, and ceramic pots and pans used by people living there in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries were found during the most recent excavations.

Ege University Associate Professor Sevinç Gök has been working on the ceramics, and says they were used in the houses of Levantine families.

“We see that particularly foreigners lived in the Agora area in the 17th century and Turks lived in the skirts of Kadifekale. Later on, they moved to coastal areas. In the end of 17th century, Levantines mostly lived in the Alsancak and Karşıyaka neighborhoods. As a result, these ceramics were used in these people’s houses. Currently, we are removing ceramic tools from the Ottoman era. We have found many of them,” Gök said, adding that those ceramics provided information about the socio-economic situation of people living in the region.