Excavation works started 2 years ago to uncover the ancient city of Perinthos in Bayraktepe district of Marmaraereğlisi continue. Among the ruins found in the 1.5 kilometers long and 500 meters wide area on the hill part of the city, the theater, which is said to be the largest in Thrace, was unearthed. Yahya Coşkun, Deputy Director General of Cultural Assets and Museums of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Ahmet Hacıoğlu examined the works on site.
Yahya Coşkun, who received information about the works from the head of the excavation Prof. Dr. Zeynep Koçel Erdem, said that the excavation in the Ancient City of Perinthos is new and said, “These findings may not be very visually satisfying and astonishing to people for now. But scientifically, we have uncovered very enormous, very important finds. We have already come across a find that brings the history of the region thousands of years earlier, thousands of years further back. We are primarily conducting excavations for scientific purposes. Because we actually ask questions about the past in archaeological findings. These questions give us answers, and ultimately, what we call archaeology is actually the conversation of all these monuments and stones. With the answers we received from the questions we asked, we were able to take the past of Marmaraereğlisi and Tekirdağ thousands of years into the past. For this reason, although Perinthos is a very new excavation, our professor and friends have reached scientific knowledge at the first moment with the work they have done so far.”
‘People from all over the world will come here’
According to the reports of DHA, stating that they have many years ahead of them for excavations, Coşkun said, “In the coming years, as this information, finds increase, access to the areas we excavate becomes easier, scientific information in the sense of tourism not only from this region, people from all over Türkiye and the world will come here. Because where we are now is one of our most important stops, especially regarding the Thracians.”
The enormous expanse of Perinthos
Prof. Dr. Zeynep Koçel Erdem, Head of Excavations of the Ancient City of Perinthos, said that every finding made her happy, “The city is a very big city. Only this Acropolis with its dominance area is an enormous area of 1.5 kilometers long and 500 meters wide. The beauty of it, which was interesting for us, is that it has never been touched, and since it is a fiscal treasure, it has been protected because it is a first degree archaeological site, it has been very well protected. We started last year and every day something about the theater comes in, which makes us very happy. The theater is a Greek theater type, an enormous size based on a hillside. It is big enough to compete with the big theaters of Anatolia. For example, it measures 140 by 110 meters, which is approximately the size of the Ephesus Theater. Although the seating rows are not in place, it is quite monumental and propagandist, it has an enormous view overlooking the Marmara Sea, I compare it to the Asos Theater.”
Continuing her remarks by giving information about the findings, Erdem said, “For now, our findings are the decorations and ceramics found that were used in the earliest imperial period. I think it was used until the 6th century, early 7th century. It was abandoned at the beginning of the 7th century. This is our current information. Now we are excavating in the stage building, we have approximately 4 soundings. In these 4 soundings, we found traces of the steps between the seating rows and the seating rows at a level of minus 4.5 meters. This is very pleasing.”