Discovery of an 'Extremely Important Building' Hiding Secrets of an Ancient Greek City Excites Archaeologists

Certain buildings carry with them the legacy of populations that once inhabited them. Archaeologists in western Türkiye excavated one such structure, stated the University of Pennsylvania. A team of experts in collaboration with the Teos Archaeological Project of Ankara University, conducted this project.

The discovery took place in the ancient city of Teos, which is located directly across the Aegean Sea from Athens. The city has long lost its glory, with no trace of significant human population in the region since the third century C.E. However, structures at the site exhibit impressions of a time that had gone by several millennia ago. The structure archaeologists focused on at this site was an ancient city council building called the bouleuterion. The archaeologists selected this building because of its condition. "This is the best-preserved building in the city of Teos, and it seems to preserve for us the early history of Teos underneath it," shared Mantha Zarmakoupi, an archaeologist involved with the site.

At present, all that remains of the building is a sloping curvilinear stone seating, some fragments, and a wall. Researchers noted that the building was renovated over time. Several additions were made to the original building. Archaeologists also spotted some early Hellenistic mosaics and a monumental inscription. The experts believe that the objective of the building changed through the years. This implies that the building's role reflected the particular population's priorities. "This building is extremely important for understanding the ancient communities that were living here and their institutions," Peter Satterthwaite, a fifth-year PhD candidate in Ancient History working at the site, shared.

The team noted that there was a seating area that could fit several hundred people. This implied to archaeologists that during the Hellenistic period (toward the end of the third century B.C.E.) when it was built, Teos' residents possibly came together inside the building for discussions. The analysis unveiled that in the Roman period, the bouleuterion was transformed into a theater, as showcased by the addition of a stage structure to the center of the space and a three-sided courtyard.

The team also spotted two mosaic fragments in the building. Both of them appeared to spread across multiple rooms and dated back to the third century B.C.E. One of the mosaics featured Eros, the Greek god of love, the patron deity of Teos, and two cupids fighting with each other. Researchers were ecstatic to find the stunning mosaics. "There’s this feeling of euphoria," Zarmakoupi explained. "You’re like, 'Oh my god, there’s something really there.'" During the excavation season of 2021, archaeologists discovered a 30-cm-high monumental inscription on the building. Deciphering the inscription was hard as it was only properly visible in the winter months. Archaeologists found that each stone block carried marks made by their masons that hinted at their position in the building.

The team reimagined the arrangement of stone blocks in their implied positions and began trying to understand the inscription. "The inscription gives us a really valuable indication of the process by which the structures were built and who was involved," Satterthwaite said. All but a small portion is left to be translated. The inscription claims that the building was sponsored by a group of Dionysian artists, who were possibly later driven out. Their unpopularity supposedly led to the attempted removal of the inscription. "The fact that it’s erased is a clue to another chapter in the city’s history, in which they no longer wanted to commemorate that person or his involvement in the project," Satterthwaite added.