The traces on the street show that earthquakes during the Roman period severely damaged the avenue.
Archaeologists working in the northwestern province of Çanakkale have brought to light clear evidence of a 1,500-year-old seismic collapse across a paved Roman roadway at the historical site of Troy, a UNESCO World Heritage treasure.
The excavations, conducted with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism under the coordination of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University (ÇOMÜ), are providing new information about Troy’s Roman period.
Troy Excavation Committee Head Professor Rüstem Aslan told state-run Anadolu Agency that this year’s work has focused on the lower city dating back to the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
Aslan said excavations were continuing as part of the “Legacy for the Future Project,” adding that findings from this year marked a turning point in understanding the history of the ancient city.
Explaining that excavations were being carried out at four different locations, Aslan said, “The Roman-era lower city, where we are continuing our excavations, was experiencing a very important and magnificent period at the time. Especially after Augustus visited Troy in the 20s B.C., the city’s grandeur increased further. The Roman street in the city was a very large avenue. Magnificent streets ran parallel to each other in north-south and east-west directions. Villas and shops were located on both sides of these streets. We started excavations to uncover details about the city’s layout and to understand better how visitors coming from the citadel were directed toward the lower city.”
Earthquake severely damaged the street
Reminding that excavations were also continuing in the agora area inside the citadel and at four other locations, Aslan said: “According to historical records, the Roman city of Troy was destroyed by two major earthquakes. The last major destruction occurred in the 500s A.D. We can see from the traces on this street that the earthquakes of the Roman period severely damaged the avenue. The earthquake destroyed Troy. We know that the final major destruction of Troy occurred with an earthquake around 1,500 years ago. This can be clearly seen in the remains of the Roman street here.”
Aslan said the findings supported evidence of destruction caused by earthquakes at the end of the Roman period. He added that Troy had been rebuilt after earthquakes in earlier periods, but after the major earthquakes of the Late Roman period, the settlement was unable to regain its former vitality.
Aslan noted that Troy was inhabited from around 3000 B.C. to 500 A.D., adding that the city remained settled for thousands of years despite earthquakes in different periods, but life in the ancient city came to an end after the final major earthquakes.
