INGILTEREDE bir otelin zeugmayi tanitimi
Zeugma
Turkey’s southeast province of Gaziantep was until recently best known for its pistachio nuts and
baklava. Close to the town of Nizip on the Euphrates is the tiny village of Belkis, whose inhabitants
carefully tender their groves of pistachio trees. The nuts are their sole source of income, each tree
producing a crop worth between fifty and a hundred million Turkish lira. Yet not all wealth can be
measured in currency, and the villagsed real asset is the magnificent ruins of the ancient city of
Zeugma, which has lain sleeping beneath the pistachio groves for nearly two thousand years.Zeugma
has become one of the most frequently heard words over recent months, not just in the Turkish but in
the world press. Founded by the Macedonian Seleucid ruler Nicator I, this Hellenistic city grew in
prosperity during Roman times since it lay on the trade road which stretched eastwards across Asia to
China. Zeugma’s huge wealth was reflected in the homes of its inhabitants. Rich merchants and Roman
noblemen and officers vied with one another to adorn their houses with the world’s loveliest mosaics,
ceramics, statues, and frescos. Zeugma has been described in international literature as the ‘second
Pompei’. The people of Zeugma enjoyed a magnificent lifestyle in their city on the Euphrates until the
Sassanid invasion in 252 AD, when the city was burnt and razed. This was followed shortly afterwards
by a violent earthquake, and a city which had extended over an area of 2100 hectares was buried
beneath rubble, and fell into a sleep from which it was not to wake for nearly two thousand years. After
the Turks took the region, the city became known as the Belkis Ruins.
Since 1996 diverse salvage excavations have been carried out at Zeugma. As water collects in the
reservoir of Birecik Dam, which is located very close to Zeugma, the city is gradually disappearing under
water. Huge resources are required to save works in the as yet unsubmerged upper part of the city, on
which the eyes of the world are now focused.Aware that no government can afford the sums necessary
to realise the dreams of archaeologists, non-governmental and private organisations have set to work to
raise funds, and the first five million dollars has been donated by the American Packard Humanities
Institute. Excavations carried out in zones A and B will be carried out under the coordination of the GAP
Regional Development Authority and the auspices of the Ministry of Culture. Salvage excavations in
zone B began in July with the participation of international archaeological teams.The Turkish and world
public wish to see the works of art from Zeugma properly housed at Gaziantep Museum as soon as
possible, but since room in the museum stores is limited this marvellous collection is currently standing
in the openair in the museum grounds. Construction of the new museum annex has halted temporarily
due to lack of funds, but the museum is hoping to find a sponsor or additional funds soon.Those who
see even a small part of the peerless Zeugma finds at Gaziantep Museum are certain to lend
momentum to the campaign; at least, so we can only hope. The ancient city of Zeugma lies on the
western shore of the Euphrates, whose fertile shores gave birth to civilisation in prehistoric times and
which since antiquity has marked the boundary between the Eastern and Western worlds.Zeugma lies
near the village of Belkis ten kilometres east of Nizip in the province of Gaziantep. Zeugma and
Samosata (today known as Belkis and Samsat respectively) were situated at the two easiest points for
crossing this great river, and the name Zeugma meant ‘bridgehead’ or ‘place of crossing’. Alexander the
Great is said to have crossed the Euphrates here on his way to conquer Persia. Subsequently one of
his generals, Seleucos I Nicator (312-281 BC), founder of the Seleucid Empire, established twin cities
here: Apameia on the east bank, named after his Persian born wife Apama, and Seleukeia on the west
bank, named after himself.Seleukeia was later renamed Zeugma, and became one of the four major
cities of the kingdom of Commagene. Its strategic position led to its rapid development.After the region
came under Roman rule the Scythian Legion (Legio IIII Scythica) was stationed here, as a result of
which the city gained still greater importance. For two centuries the city was home to high ranking
officials and officers of the Roman Empire, who brought their families, advisors, slaves, and a
sophisticated cultural life.
As a city of both military importance and a vital commercial centre between East and West, Zeugma
enjoyed its golden age in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Its importance is reflected in the works of art
and villas uncovered here. In 252 AD the renowned Sassanid ruler Shahpur I (241-272) laid siege to Dura
and captured the city. Archaeological evidence shows that the Sassanids went on to burn and raze
Zeugma around 252.On the acropolis known as Belkis Hill are the ruins of a temple dedicated to Tykhe,
goddess of fate. The city stretches from the acropolis down to the Euphrates 300 metres below, an area
of approximately two thousand hectares. In 1987 Gaziantep Museum excavated two tomb chambers
which had been broken into by antiquity smugglers in the necropolis southwest of Zeugma, revealing
frescos on the walls and statues on the terraces in front of the chambers. These statues are now in
Gaziantep Museum. In 1992 the watchman at the site, Nusret Özdemir, reported renewed illegal activity
here, and a trench dug by antiquity hunters was discovered in the centre of the city.Excavations
commenced on the same spot by a team from Gaziantep Museum led by director Rifat Ergeç uncovered
a Roman villa and magnificent mosaic pavements. The 1st century AD villa consisted of galleries around
an atrium with eight columns and rooms behind the galleries. The mosaic which adorned the vill’se
gallery depicted the marriage of Dionysus, god of wine and grapes, to Ariadne. Sadly, six of the ten
figures portrayed in this mosaic were stolen on 15 June 1998. In further excavations here, in which David
Kennedy from Australia participated in 1993, part of the central panel of the mosaic pavement belonging
to the terrace of another villa turned out to have been stolen long since - probably around 1965 - so the
two figures are missing from the knees upwards.
The missing mosaic fragment was later found to be in the Menil Collection at Rice University in the city
of Houston. The two figures seated side by side in this mosaic are the two legendary lovers, Metiokhos
and Parthenope. At the request of the Turkish Ministry of Culture, the stolen fragment was returned, and
the complete mosaic can now be seen in Gaziantep Museum.When mosaic fragments were discovered
during construction of the Birecik Dam wall which commenced in 1996, Gaziantep Museum had the
work halted while excavations were carried out that revealed a Roman bath and gymnasium, and 36
mosaic panels which were added to the museum collection.In 1997, on the clay quarry area in front of
the dam wall a large bronze age cemetery was discovered and excavated. Nearly eight thousand pottery
vessels were found in 320 graves going back to the early bronze age. The museum staff worked
unceasingly through the winter of 1998-1999, uncovering such important and beautiful finds as the
Akratos and Gypsy Girl Mosaic and 65,000 bulla (seal imprints in clay) in an archive room at iskeleüstü,
making Gaziantep Museum possessor of the largest bulla collection in the world. In 1999, in a building
in the lower quarter of the city, mosaics depicting the head of Dionysus and Oceanos and Tethys with
sea creatures were discovered.From 1996 onwards, with the threat of being submerged under the waters
of the new dam, salvage excavations were carried out by C. Abadie Reynal of Nantes University in
France together with archaeologists from Gaziantep and ?anliurfa museums. In 1999 a mosaic
pavement depicting the mythological Minos bull was discovered at Mezarliküstü,and at the end of the
excavation season further mosaics were visible at the threshholds of other rooms. Not wishing to leave
the mosaics at the mercy of the treasure hunters who are so active in the area, Gaziantep Museum’s
acting director Fatma Bulgan decided to carry on with excavations through the winter months. Despite
difficult weather conditions they went on to uncover a fountain with its own tank at a depth of three
metres, and a marble figure of Apollo, as well as another mosaic pavement with nine figures depicting
Achilles being taken by Odysseus to fight in the Trojan War. Also during salvage excavations under
Mehmet Önal, an archaeologist from Gaziantep Museum, two more Roman villas were uncovered.
These villas, which stood side by side, were burned and razed by the Sassanids in 252. The fact that
they lay under three metres of rubble had protected them from treasure hunters, and their frescos,
mosaics and other artifacts were almost completely intact. A bronze statue of Mars, which aroused
increased media interest in Zeugma, was found amongst storage jars in the larder of one of the villas.
Altogether seventeen mosaic pavements have been revealed in the villas, whose walls were decorated
with colourful frescoes. Excavations of Zeugma have been divided into three areas, initial priority being
given to salvage and documentation in Zone A, which sank under the dam waters in early July. Work
then moved on to Zone B, which will be submerged in October 2000 when the dam water reaches its
maximum level of 385 metres. Zone C, on the other hand, consists of the higher parts of the city which
will not be affected by the new dam. Zeugma is one of the foremost of Turkey’s archaeological and
historic sites, and the attention focused upon it from all over the world will undoubtedly continue over the
years ahead.
insanlar ikiye ayrilir.NIZIPLILER VE DIGERLERI
Edited by - mehmet ali küçük on 04/04/2002 11:23:08
