Rome · 1st century AD · Gölyazı (Apollonia ad Rhyndacum), Bursa province, Turkey
Roman-era cremation tomb found inside an ancient theatre in Turkey
The first-century AD grave lay just north of the lower seats of the theatre at Apollonia ad Rhyndacum, though the city already had a burial ground near its entrance.
Gölyazı (Apollonia ad Rhyndacum), Turkey Archaeologists have found a tomb from the first century AD inside the ancient theatre of Apollonia ad Rhyndacum in north-western Turkey. The burial lay north of the theatre's lower seating section. That is an odd place for a grave, because the city already had a burial ground near its entrance.
The site is at Gölyazı, a neighbourhood on Lake Uluabat in Bursa province. A team from Bursa Uludağ University has been excavating the theatre since 2021. Professor Derya Şahin of the university's Department of Archaeology leads the work. She described the find to Anadolu Agency.
A mud-brick chamber under a tiled roof
The tomb has a burial chamber of adobe, or sun-dried mud brick, covered with terracotta roof tiles. The dead had been cremated. Şahin called the tomb the season's most significant discovery in the northern part of the lower seating area.
Cremation makes the grave hard to read. From the surviving burnt bones, the team cannot easily establish how many people were buried there.
“Because the remains were burned, the tomb has not yielded many finds.”
Derya Şahin, excavation director, Bursa Uludağ University
In its construction and features, the tomb closely resembles other known graves in the area. Its position is what sets it apart.
“Given that the ancient city already had a designated necropolis, what was a tomb doing inside the theater?”
Derya Şahin, excavation director, Bursa Uludağ University
Şahin thinks the grave must have carried a special meaning. She offers one possible reading but no firm answer.
“The tomb must have had a special significance, perhaps linked to something sacred or heroic.”
Derya Şahin, excavation director, Bursa Uludağ University
A Hellenistic theatre with a Roman final phase
The theatre was built in the Hellenistic period, set into the slopes of Zambaktepe above the lake. It is thought to have held around 5,000 people. It also had VIP sections that resembled private boxes. Archaeologists have so far uncovered 42 rows of seats and returned them to their original positions.
Its first design followed a typical Hellenistic plan built into a hillside. Inscriptions suggest that the theatre's final phase dates to the early second century AD.
The upper seating section has been completely destroyed and has revealed little of its underlying structure. The team suspects the theatre had two levels. A passage about 1 metre wide, called a diazoma, would have separated them. Şahin believes the upper seats may have rested on vaults, similar to those used in Roman-era theatres.
Gölyazı has been lived in continuously, which makes the work harder, Şahin said. Buildings here are rarely as well preserved as in abandoned and isolated ancient cities. She still sees considerable potential around the theatre. Structures connected to it, another temple or a nearby road may yet be found.
This season's team is two archaeologists, a restorer and workers. They have largely finished excavating the lower seating section. In its northern part, they are uncovering buried remains, digging down to bedrock and looking for the original seat foundations. Şahin expects this season's work to end by late November.
Sources (1)
- Unusual tomb discovered at ancient theater in Türkiye (dailysabah.com)
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