Parion is located on the Anatolian side of the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) region, including the Biga Peninsula, in the west of Anatolian Turkey. Parion is situatedin Kemer Village, connected to the town of Balıklı Çeşme, in the Biga District of Çanakkale. Parion is located at Bodrum Burnu (Cape Bodrum). The city was founded at bothsides of a river where it empties into the sea and has a natural harbor, very much like other colonies established in the region during the 7th and 8th centuries BC. Although there is no definitive information about the foundation of Parion reports that the foundation of the city, which might be dated to 709 BC, might, amongst others, be related to the colonization by the city of Miletus, Erythrai, and Paros. In addition to these sources, Pausanias indicates that Parion was colonised by the city of Erythrai Modern research partially confirms the information provided by historical sources. Both modern and historical sources indicate that three cities may betaken as the founders of Parion: Erythrai, Paros, and Miletus.
There is a strong discussion about the role of Erythrai on the names of Oikists (= founders) and this discussion maystem from the fact that the names of some people came to light. Concludes that Paros was highly influential and likely to be the origin for the name of Parion. The city of Miletus was known as the founder of many colonies in the region. However, the only information on this issue is provided by ancient literary sources, as the excavation of Parion is currently in its initial stage, and no new archaeological evidence has yet been discovered.
In 2004, ground work started in the area of (what would become) the Sout Necropolis of the ancient city, in preparation of the construction of an elementary school, and subsequently graves and archaeological materials were uncovered. dating to Antiquity. Upon this development, rescue excavations were carried out in the area of the necropolis by the Archaeological Museum of Çanakkale in the same year. In 2005, however, systematic excavations were carried out in the ancient city for the first time by a team under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Cevat Başaran, who previously already had conducted archaeological surface research in the region between 1999 and 2002. Excavations have been continuing since 2015 under the director of Prof.Dr.Vedat KELEŞ.
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The Apollon Smintheus Sanctuary (Smintheion), located in the town of Gülpınar, Ayvacık, Çanakkale, is a project of special importance for Western Anatolian Archeology, where there are building remains from the Hellenistic and Roman periods and traces of the settlement dating to the Chalcolithic Period.During the excavations, which started in 1980 under the direction of Prof. Dr. Coşkun Özgünel, many structures such as the bath, residences and the sacred street related to the sanctuary were unearthed, as well as the temple. The excavation director of the project has been Asc. Prof. Dr. David Kaplan continues.
Apollon Smintheus Sanctuary is the second most important sanctuary of Troas after the temple of Athena in Troy. The importance of the sanctuary stems from the fact that it is the only example with a mouse symbol among the known Apollo cults in Anatolia. Etymologically, Apollon Smintheus means "Lord of Mice". Apollo Smintheus appears in the Troas region as a god who protects the farmers from mice.
The most important structure of the Apollon Smintheus Sanctuary is the Temple of Apollon Smintheus, and the temple built in Ionic style dates back to 150 BC. The most striking aspect of the Temple of Apollon Smintheus is the reliefs that take their subject from the Trojan War, which is described in Homer's Iliad. The temple, decorated with relief friezes on the Iliad, is unique in this context. The temple in question is characterized by its unique architectural style and its unique plastic works in the Hellenistic Period Western Anatolian architectural art.
During the archaeological excavations carried out in the Apollon Smintheus Sanctuary (Smintheion), the remains of a prehistoric settlement dated to 5 thousand BC were also found. The Middle Chalcolithic Period, which is one of the least known periods of Western Anatolian prehistory, also represents a period when many Aegean islands were first settled and cultural interactions and trade began to increase in Western Anatolia and the Aegean world. The Chalcolithic Smintheion settlement is important in that it represents a period that characterized the pre-Troas region of Troas.
A museum where the temple friezes are exhibited has been opened to visitors in the area where excavations are continuing. Although the restoration works of the temple continue, some of the architecture has been restored.
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Apollon Smintheius. Aerial view
Temple of Apollo Smintheus
Sacred street-statue bases
Warehouse-museum: View from inside
A frieze from the temple. The Achaeans arriving in Achilles' tent: Lament for Patroclus
Asarkale is located in the Kızılırmak Valley, three kilometers west of Asar Neighborhood in Bafra district of Samsun, and three kilometers away from Altınkaya Dam. The fortified castle is located approximately 24 kilometers south of Bafra as the crow flies, and approximately two to three kilometers southwest of Asar Neighborhood. It is known that Kızılırmak River formed the natural border of Paphlagonia and Pontos regions in ancient times, and Asarkale undertook the task of controlling the river valley (river and land route) connecting the inner parts of Anatolia to the Black Sea coast via Bafra. The castle, which was built right on the edge of the river to ensure the safety of land and river routes, dates back to the Hellenistic Period and is understood to have been one of the last observation and control stages of Kızılırmak (=Halys) before it flowed into the Black Sea (=Pontos Euxenios) in ancient times.
Asarkale, which was established on a rocky area that reaches a height of approximately 135 meters from the Kızılırmak River to the north, is known to have a slope of 45 degrees, but it is also known to have a much steeper and higher slope in places. When the natural formation of the rock is examined, it is seen that the castle includes lateral areas in the south and southeast directions, and has a general field of view of approximately 225 degrees from northwest to east.
Studies, research and examinations carried out in Asarkale and its surroundings until 2024 are limited in number. In 2024, a team under the presidency of Samsun Museum and the scientific responsibility of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kasım Oyarçin, faculty member of the Archaeology Department of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Ondokuz Mayıs University, started archaeological excavations, restoration-conservation and landscaping works in the castle.
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The ancient city of Sebastopolis, one of the largest Roman cities in the Black Sea region, is located within the present-day borders of the Sulusaray district of Tokat province. Excavations were initially conducted at the site under the direction of the Tokat Museum between 1987 and 1990, 2010, 2013 and 2018, and 2021 and 2023. These excavations uncovered a city wall, a Roman bath, a Byzantine church, and mosaic fragments. After a two-year hiatus, excavations resumed with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, under the scientific supervision of Prof. Dr. Davut YİĞİTPAŞA of the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ondokuz Mayıs University.
The ancient city of Sebastopolis was a significant settlement during the Roman Period, with archaeological excavations revealing an uninterrupted history of settlement from the Bronze, Hittite, Phrygian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman periods. Excavations were conducted in two sectors containing the remains of a Roman Bath and a Byzantine Church. The Byzantine Church, with its three-apse, three-nave basilica plan and east-west orientation, has an excavated section measuring 27x29 meters on the exterior. The surviving support system indicates that it had a dome approximately eleven meters in diameter, supported by four large piers at the center of the main nave. In the church's central nave, the opus sectile pavement, flanked by the solea and ambo, is centrally located beneath the dome. At the center of the composition is a square panel with an eight-pointed star motif. This panel is surrounded by a large circle decorated with four knotted circles at its corners. The entire composition is framed by rectangular borders featuring various geometric patterns. Remains of a mural were identified on the west face of the southeastern one of the four massive piers supporting the dome, beginning at the lower part of the wall, just above the marble facing. This partially preserved remnant offers important clues about the church's original decorative program. The depiction consists of an imitation of a curtain and bears a two-line Greek inscription.
Following our work at the Roman Baths, it was determined that the bathhouse dates to the Roman period, and the dressing rooms (apodyterium), frigidarium, tepidarium, and caldarium (hot room) were largely uncovered. These social service structures, sometimes built in addition to the baths and sometimes located in the immediate vicinity, such as libraries, galleries, parks, educational, sports, meeting, and ceremonial spaces, have not yet been discovered. The remains of mortared rubble masonry walls, located above the remains of the bathhouse's cut block walls, indicate that the building was used for various purposes during the Byzantine period
