The remains of a Roman villa were recently excavated in Defne district, Hatay province, southern Türkiye. The ruins include broken walls and a well-preserved floor mosaic with geometric motifs, Daily Sabah reported. The find was discovered by chance in December 2021 when construction workers were digging to lay the foundation for a new structure at the site of a demolished eight-story building. Routine construction work was stopped after the discovery was reported to the Hatay Archeology Museum Board of Directors. Archaeological investigations determined that workers discovered the walls and floors of a Roman villa. Rescue excavations were then launched in June 2022.
Mosaic Museum in Hatay Archaeological Museum, Antakya District, Hatay Province, Türkiye. (Zorka Sojka / CC BY-SA 4.0 )
The Roman past of Türkiye and Hatay
Although the recent discovery was accidental, it is not the only one. The area comprising modern Turkey was ruled by the Romans for the 14th century and was also the administrative base of the empire from the reign of Emperor Constantine in the fourth century.
In fact, the eastern part of the Roman empire with its capital in Byzantium or Constantinople (modern Istanbul) continued to flourish even as the western part declined and fell to barbarian invasions. The eastern Roman Empire existed until the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in 1453 and put an end to the remnants of Roman rule.
With this history, many architectural ruins reminiscent of its Roman past are scattered throughout Türkiye. Hatay itself, known as Antiochia, was an important city during the Roman period. Founded by Seleucus Nikator, one of Alexander the Great’s commanders in the late 4th century BC, Hatay has been home to many civilizations throughout history. It remains one of Türkiye’s most religiously diverse provinces.
Antakya Dionysos Archaeological Museum and the Ariadne Mosaic. From Samandağı, second to third century AD. (Dosseman / CC BY-SA 4.0 )
Many artifacts and architectural remains dating from the Roman period have been discovered in Hatay and it has a particularly rich Roman mosaic base. According to Hurriyet Daily News, it has the world’s largest mosaic museum in terms of display area, although hundreds of mosaics discovered during excavations in the city are actually displayed in museums. stored abroad.
Hatice Pamir from Mustafa Kemal University’s Department of Archeology told Hurriyet Daily News:
“About 200 mosaics taken from Hatay are being exhibited abroad. There is a large collection of Hatay mosaics in the Louvre Museum in France. In addition, there are mosaics from Hatay in 28 different art museums in the US. The main museums are the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Worcester Art Museum, and the Princeton University Art Museum. At that time, the work was brought abroad by legal means. However, Hatay’s archaeological richness never ends. Historical artifacts are still unearthed during excavations.”
Villa with geometric pattern mosaic floors
The site of the recently discovered villa has been protected after the historical origins of the remains were established. Defne city authorities are sponsoring rescue operations carried out by a team consisting of an archaeologist, an art historian and 11 workers.
According to Daily Sabah, Ayşe Ersoy, director of Hatay Archeology Museum, gave information that:
“Floor mosaics and wall ruins of a Roman villa have been excavated. Based on ruins and small finds, we determine that the place was inhabited until the 2nd and 5th centuries. Antioch was settled in a large area between the Orontes River and the Habib-Mountains. i Neccar. It was the third largest city during the Roman Empire after Rome and Constantinople. Its range of spread is very wide. The Antioch road, starting from the gate of Aleppo, went up to the gate of Defne, and along the way there were settlements. This is a villa and ruins from that period.”
Unfortunately, the scope of the excavation was limited to include the surrounding area as it was mainly under multi-storey buildings. However, Daily Sabah reported that Ersoy said that digging will soon begin in the adjacent land to determine whether the area of historical interest is limited to the villa or extends beyond it. The findings will be presented to the conservation committee and a decision will then be made as to whether the recent find needs to be moved.
The most recently excavated Roman villa with its geometrically patterned mosaic floor is just the latest in the Hatay series of mosaics. With the astonishing regularity with which Hatay continues to collect Roman relics, it is hoped that many more such discoveries will follow.
