'Stone hospital' gives care to 2,000-year-old columns

İZMİR

Ancient columns, bases and architectural blocks that had remained buried underground for centuries in Ephesus are being carefully restored and reassembled in a special conservation area known by archaeologists as the “stone hospital.”

Excavation and restoration works are continuing at the UNESCO-listed ancient city as part of the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s “Heritage for the Future: Eternal Ephesus” project.

Along Stadium Street, which is being prepared as part of a new visitor route, ancient columns and stone blocks toppled by earthquakes, fires and natural disasters over the centuries are being brought back to life by restoration experts.

In the section set up beside Stadium Street and nicknamed the “stone hospital” by the team, broken columns, bases, capitals and inscribed blocks are examined one by one. The stones are first documented before undergoing cleaning, reinforcement and reassembly processes. Restored pieces are then returned to their original locations.

Professor Bahadır Duman, coordinator of the “Heritage for the Future: Eternal Ephesus” project and a faculty member at Pamukkale University, said the works launched in 2023 are concentrated around the visitor reception center, Stadium Street and the ancient theater.

Duman said the project is being carried out by a team of 200 to 250 Turkish and international experts, including archaeologists, restorers, geologists, architects and engineers.

“We call this place a hospital, but it is a stone hospital. We are dealing not with living beings but with inanimate objects,” Duman said.

“They are scanned in the finest detail, drawn and documented. Then restoration experts and specialists determine the necessary interventions before mechanical, chemical, cleaning and reassembly work is carried out.”

Duman noted that Stadium Street had remained in use for nearly 2,500 years and had suffered repeated destruction from earthquakes, fires and other natural disasters.

He said ancient residents of Ephesus had also attempted to restore the damaged structures in antiquity.

“Not everything was rebuilt in a perfectly ordered way. Sometimes bases were used as capitals, sometimes columns were turned upside down and stacked differently. There are many such touches from antiquity,” he said.

“To help visitors better understand the ancient era, we are keeping our interventions to a minimum level.”
According to Duman, around 120 to 130 columns and bases have been identified along the street, with restoration work completed on roughly 60 percent of them. The remaining works are expected to be finished in the coming months.

He added that Latin and Greek inscriptions, as well as statue bases found along the street, are also being translated into Turkish and English to help visitors better understand the site.

The new visitor route will continue after Stadium Street with the ancient theater and later Harbor Street, offering returning visitors a completely different experience of Ephesus, once regarded as the capital of Asia Minor.

Duman said restoration works on both Harbor Street and Stadium Street are expected to be completed by the end of the year.