Two rock chambers were unearthed in the ancient city of Zeugma, located in the Belkıs Neighborhood on the banks of the Euphrates, in Gaziantep, in the area known as the “House of Muzas” due to the mosaics on the floor, which were previously found within the scope of the excavations carried out since 2005.
The excavations, which started in 2005, continue in the ancient city of Zeugma, which is located on the Euphrates River in the form of two cities facing each other and is located on an area of 20 thousand decares. Due to the mosaic found on the floor of a room that was discovered in 2007 and the excavations are continuing, 2 rock rooms were reached in the area called the ‘House of the Muzas’.
The head of the excavation, Prof. Dr. Kutalmış Görkay stated that the rock rooms were reached after the excavation of the 16-meter earth fill in the ‘Muzas House’ and said, “We excavated the 16-meter earth fill above the rock chambers that we identified and shifted the works in this direction. After taking this weight on it, we started to work on the excavations inside the rock chambers. Work still continues in this room, where the lands inside were taken. There is protection and reinforcement of these rooms. There are especially risky cracks on the ceilings in the room. During the current year, we will complete the excavations in the other rock chamber. Later, we plan to open these areas to visits by taking protective measures and ensuring room security with injections or steel structures.”
‘THEY CARRY TRACES FROM INTELLECTUAL LIFE’
Pointing out that the rock rooms found were used as dining rooms and that the mosaics unearthed from the house carry traces of intellectual life, Prof. Dr. Görkay, “Muzas are the most important muses or personifications of classical Greek education in antiquity. In these houses, there are goddesses and personifications believed to contribute to Greek literature, history, poetry, music, at dinner meetings. Because of this mosaic, we named the house ‘Muzas’ When we found the Muzas mosaic in 2007, we continued our work. The house shows us the traces of the intellectual life of its owner at that time.”
Stating that the ancient city of Zeugma is one of the most important cities in Anatolia, especially on the Eastern Roman border, and that the excavations of the House of Muzas, which have been ongoing since 2007, provide important information about the private lives, personal preferences and identities of the inhabitants of Zeugma, Görkay said:
“When we look at the places and the general structure of the house, we think that Zeugma belongs to a family above the middle class economy. These houses may have one or two courtyards. Courtyards are areas where air and water enter, where rain water is collected and used as water collection basins. In these wet areas, we see more water-related scenes. The courtyards of these houses are also used for dinner parties. The courtyards are filled with water. With these waters, the house is cooled in hot weather. The two rocks we studied here may have been used as dining rooms in the room. We did not find any mosaics on its floor. We are currently working on consolidation. We aim to open it to the public as soon as possible.” (Cumhuriyet)
