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.
With the latest phase of excavations completed, visitors can now walk the restored route from the theater to the acropolis.
The street, measuring between 3 and 5 meters in width, was lined with shops whose entrances and side streets were uncovered during the excavations.
Among the most significant discoveries is an ancient bakery on the northern side of the street, preserved with all of its architectural elements intact.
Researchers also determined that retaining walls flanking parts of the street, some reaching 2.5 meters in height, were constructed using the opus mixtum technique, combining stone and brick.
Excavations at the Eastern Square also uncovered the city’s monumental entrance, known as the Theater Street Eastern Monumental Gate.
South of the gate, archaeologists identified an exedra-style fountain and two rooms built on a terrace. Architectural elements including geison-sima blocks, architrave fragments and numerous decorative pieces were also recovered, indicating that the structure dates to the late second or early third century A.D.
Another highlight is the Young Eurymedon River God Mosaic, discovered on the floor of a pool structure in the Eastern Square.
Elsewhere in Aspendos, excavations at the Two-Story Shops/Stoa Complex uncovered a Phoenician coin and glass alabastron vessels, providing further evidence of the city’s strong commercial ties with Syria-Palestine and other overseas trading centers across the eastern Mediterranean.
The finds underscore Aspendos’ importance not only as an architectural and cultural center but also as one of the region’s leading economic hubs, offering new scientific evidence of its commercial scale and international connections.
