Ancient Mosaics Dated To The First Century Discovered In Southern Turkey

Conny Waters – AncientPages.com - Ancient mosaics were discovered in construction site in southern Turkey's Osmaniye province.

The ancient mosaics, believed to date back to the first century, were found during digging in Dere neighborhood of Kadirli district.

Mosaic found by workers.

“One of the mosaics has a radish on it. It also has a human figure holding grapes and a partridge in his hand. This shows that radishes have been farmed in our region since the first century,” said provincial culture and tourism director Burhan Torun, said in a press release.

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The construction site has been declared as an archaeological site and secured.

“Here we find the mythological characters equivalent to Zeugma. This study will shed light on Kadirli’s history. Also we found the first written document regarding Kadirli on those mosaics,” Torun added.

The Zeugma excavation site is in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep. Many beautiful mosaics were already discovered in Zeugma, which is considered one of the most important centers in the Eastern Roman Empire.

As a result of Alexander the Great's policy of mixing Greek people with indigenous populations, Zeugma had a symbolic value – it was an allegory of cultural amalgamation.

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Originally, the ancient city of Zeugma was founded as a Greek settlement by Seleucus I Nicator, one of the generals of Alexander the Great, in 300 BC. The city was called "Zeugma", because of the bridge across the Euphrates River, made of pontoons and connecting the two banks of the river.

In ancient Greek, "zeugma" means “bridge” or “crossing”. The ancient term Zeugma actually referred to the twin cities on the opposing banks of the river. Zeugma was one of the gateways to Mesopotamia, placed on the Euphrates River, and its history can be traced back to the antiquity period.

Today the name Zeugma usually refers to the settlement on the west bank, called Seleucia on the Euphrates after Seleucus I, the founder.

Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer