A reception hall believed to date to the 4th century A.D. has been found during excavations at the ancient city of Hadrianopolis in the Eskipazar district of Karabük.
The ancient city, which was inhabited during the Late Chalcolithic, Roman and Early Byzantine periods, is the site of ongoing excavation and restoration work led by Associate Professor Ersin Çelikbaş of Karabük University’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Çelikbaş said that the 2025 excavation season had been completed, noting that this year’s work was focused on the area called the inner castle as part of the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s “Heritage to the Future” project.
He said the team uncovered a section consisting of a room covering a large area in front of the inner castle. “We saw that the floor of this room was decorated with mosaics. Further work revealed that this was a reception hall. Of course, this reception hall also shows us that it was part of a palace structure at Hadrianopolis,” he said.
Emphasizing the importance of the discovery, Çelikbaş continued: “We can say that the mosaic decorations feature wonderful characteristics and styles, including motifs that do not appear in the existing literature. Based on our assessments so far, both stratigraphically and stylistically, we can say that the mosaics date to the 4th century A.D. It is truly exciting for us that such a palace structure has been identified in Hadrianopolis, both for the Black Sea region and for Anatolian archaeology. Our work for this year is finished, but in 2026 we will continue efforts to uncover the other sections of the palace.”
Çelikbaş said the mosaics generally feature geometric motifs and that a peacock scene is located at the very center of the mosaic floor.
He said two peacocks were depicted. “They are shown drinking water from a vessel placed between them. There are some missing sections in the mosaics, but none are major. About 80 percent of the mosaic has survived intact. For the first time, patterns not seen in the literature have appeared here. We can also say that these mosaics, which possess features that will broaden the mosaic repertoire of Hadrianopolis, have been uncovered for the first time,” he said.
Explaining some of the motifs identified so far, Çelikbaş said, “There is a wavy ribbon motif. An eight-pointed star is placed at the center, and in the middle of this star, peacocks in antithetical posture are depicted. Various geometric motifs were also applied here. There are Solomon’s knots within the panels. In fact, the mosaics were crafted like a carpet pattern and have preserved their vividness and color to this day. We invite visitors to come and see these mosaics. We will place temporary protective covers over them, but by the end of this year, we hope to open the area for visitors to view.”
Çelikbaş said a human figure was also identified in the mosaics, although much of it has not survived.
“We do not have clear information on whether the figure is mythological or religious. Truly unique patterns appear in these mosaics. They are of great importance for Anatolian archaeology. It would be correct to say that one motif never before seen in Anatolian archaeology was identified here,” he said.
Eskipazar Mayor Serkan Cıva also said the number of visitors to Hadrianopolis was increasing every day. He thanked everyone supporting the excavations, adding: “Hadrianopolis is receiving the support it needs. It has gained archaeological site status. A new welcome center, cafeteria and restaurant are under construction. They will open soon.”
