Ancient underground city excites archaeology world
Ancient underground city excites archaeology world
04.03.2016 14:56
A new excavation process will start in April in northwestern Turkey, where officials believe a huge ancient palace lies underground.
Work to unearth the remains of an ancient city, discovered in northwestern Turkey during the removal of debris after the massive Marmara earthquake of August 1999, are due to begin in April.
During works to remove the debris of collapsed buildings after the earthquake, a number of historical artifacts were found underground in the Izmit province’s Çukurbağ district. Later on sculptures, building blocks and column stones were also found during construction works in the earthquake zone.
Among them was a giant headless sculpture of Heracles, which is now on display at Izmit’s Ethnography Museum. This very important piece was treated as garbage by the buildings’ owners, who threw it away out of fear that the construction would be halted. After being informed about the sculpture, however, Izmit Museum officials took the sculpture under protection.
A headless and legless Athena sculpture and a panel featuring the Roman emperors Diocletian and Konstantin embracing each other were also among the findings.
Officials then realized the existence very close to the surface of a huge palace-like structure, an ancient underground theater, and huge tunnels that extend as far as the Izmit Gulf.
More:
http://www.dha.com.tr/ancient-underground-city-excites-archaeology-world_1156055.html
