Exhibition sheds light on Ancient City of Neikaia in western museum

İZMİR - Doğan News Agency

The artifacts unearthed during the archaeological excavations at the ancient city of Neikaia have been put on display at an exhibition at the Ödemiş Museum. DHA Photo

A range of historical artifacts such as medical material, coins and ceramics found in the Neikaia ancient city in the Ödemiş province of İzmir are being exhibited at the Ödemiş Museum.

There have been many historical artifacts found at the site of the 2,300 year-old ancient city of Neikaia such as medical materials, coins, architectural and ceramic material. The ancient city is 10 kilometers away from Ödemiş, between the Türkonü and Kurucuova villages. The ancient city has an importance of being a health center of the time and also being connected to the Ephesus with the name Nikopolis in the sixth century B.C. The findings could not be promoted in the best way before, due to the fact that the city was in a hilly area. Prof. Dr. Veli Sevin, an ancient era historian and archeologist, has written a 96-page book about the ancient city, entitled “Naikaia, a Forgotten Ancient City.” The exhibition being held at the Ödemiş Museum aims to make the city, which started to be known about through the book, known all around the country.

Artifacts at exhibit

The exhibition is displaying three pieces of marble, nine glass pieces, four kerosene lamps made from baked soil and 16 bowls made from the soil, 1 mirror, a bronze bone medical material and a few bronze coins.

Among the guests attending the opening of the exhibition late last week were archeology department academic Prof. Dr. Serap Yaylalı, the manager of the Ödemiş Yıldız Town Records Museum Prof. Dr. Engin Berber, the manager of the Ödemiş Museum Sevda Çetin, editorial office manager of the district Mahmut Yeniay, the Director of Education of the district Cevdet Ünlü, art historian Prof. Dr. Necla Sevin, Food and Agriculture District Manager of Ödemiş İbrahim Altıntaş and Ödemiş Culture and Social Projects Manager Ufuk Kızıler.

The manager of the Ödemiş Museum Sevda Çetin said that they had started the themed exhibitions with the Neikaia Ancient City and that these would continue in order to introduce the other beauties of the city.

The art historian Prof. Dr. Necla Sevin emphasized the importance of Neikaia in history and added, “One of the most important specialties of Neikaia is that it was a health center at that time. There is much evidence of this in the findings. Ancient documents are talking about this area. The richest mercury sources of the world are in this area. These mine pits have been used since the ancient times. The importance of these mines is that they have been used in varied areas such as medicine. At the ancient era, people imported medicine and cosmetics to the world, via the Ephesus port. Another specialty of the city is that they had minted coins.”