Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr. Memduh Büyükkılıç examined on-site the archaeological excavations that ended this season in the Örenşehir District of İncesu district, where the largest ground mosaic structure in the Cappadocia and Central Anatolia Region was discovered.
Archaeological excavations in İncesu district, Örenşehir District, Köy İçi locality, under the supervision of Kayseri Museum Directorate with the support of the Metropolitan Municipality, have completed their work this season.
While Mayor Büyükkılıç made on-site inspections about the works that have ended this season and will continue next season, Büyükkılıç was accompanied by İncesu Mayor Mustafa İlmek, Kayseri Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Şükrü Dursun, City History and Promotion Department Head Gülcan Senem, Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University. (NEVÜ) Art History Department Lecturer Dr. He was accompanied by Can Erpek and Kayseri Archeology Museum Director Gökhan Yıldız.
Metropolitan Mayor Dr. received information from archaeologists about the latest situation in the excavations and the mosaics. Memduh Büyükkılıç, in his statement to journalists at the excavation site, said, “We call Kayseri the city of riches, we are talking about Kayseri, which has hosted different civilizations, we are talking about a Kayseri that is considered an open-air museum. "With this understanding, as in every field, we do not say 'this is not our job', we accept every job as our own, and we carry out excavations in 6 places in Kayseri in cooperation with our Ministry of Culture and our valuable professors."
METROPOLITAN CITY IS CONDUCTING EXCAVATION WORKS IN 6 DIFFERENT PLACES IN THE CITY
Stating that they carried out studies in 6 different places throughout the city, Mayor Büyükkılıç said, "In addition to the studies on fossils, we, as a municipality, welcomed every request of our Culture Directorate and worked on this issue in 6 places such as Kültepe Kaniş Karum, mosaic, Keykubadiye Palace, and the tomb of Seyyid Burhaneddin Hazrat." we do. Our aim is to reveal these cultural riches, to bring them to the surface, to present them for the benefit of humanity, and to always remember Kayseri positively in scientific terms. As you know, in Kültepe Kaniş Karum, while we were talking about 6 thousand years ago, it is a dimension that has reached 7 thousand years and will even go backwards. "We provide support there in four stages: an exhibition hall, a museum, an excavation and a neighborhood," he said.
KAYSERİ, THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION IN ANATOLIA
Büyükkılıç emphasized that the mosaic excavations have reached the end of the season and continued his words as follows:
“Experts about the mosaics here say that it is a really high-level residential structure. We will bring a value to Kayseri, which starts with 300 square meters, will increase to 600 square meters, and will spread to 4,5 thousand square meters, the boundaries of which we have drawn in this area. We have come to the end of the season, now we will cover them, put them to sleep and believe that we will work even more efficiently next season. "Roman and early Byzantine periods were mentioned, high-quality mosaic structures were mentioned, we emphasized once again that Anatolia was the cradle of civilization."
Stating that İncesu is the entrance gate of Cappadocia, Mayor Büyükkılıç said, “We are also in the Cappadocia region. We are within the borders of İncesu, which is described as the entrance gate of Cappadocia. "We continue our work with the understanding that we will add richness to that region and create a destination for different civilizations with the restoration works related to the historical texture in İncesu," he said.
In his statement, Büyükkılıç said that they were working to declare the region as an archaeological site and bring it into tourism, and added: "Kayseri has proven once again that it has been the center of trade since history, reflected the richness of different civilizations in every field, as the center of tolerance, as a safe port, and as the center of attraction of Anatolia." It is a city that has made a name for itself. We continue to cooperate with our district mayors with the concern of taking this city to a better point. "Once this place is defined as an archaeological site, it will be opened to visitors," he said.
“THE NEW DESTINATION WILL BE AN EXAMPLE OF THE BEST TOURISM-FOCUSED WORKS”
Pointing out that Kayseri is the city of riches, Mayor Büyükkılıç said the following in his statement:
“I would like to thank the valuable residents of Örenşehir and our headman. Here, examples of the best tourism-oriented works with the new destination will be given. Our city is a different wealth with its east and west. It is our pride and wealth that Kayseri is on the Silk Road route with its Kapuzbaşı Waterfalls, Soğanlı Valley and Sultan Sazlığı, is the caravanserai of Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, is a center of various beliefs, and is a city that makes a name for itself with the works of Seyyid Burhaneddin and the works of the Seljuk, Ottoman and Republican periods. We would like to thank those who contributed, especially our Governor. While I once again commemorate the founder of our Republic, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and his comrades-in-arms, I wish God's mercy to our martyrs. The second century of our Republic has begun. While I wish many centuries to come, I once again condemn the attacks in Palestine.”
THANKS TO MAYOR BÜYÜKKILIÇ FOR “SUPPORT”
In his statement, Kayseri Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Şükrü Dursun thanked Mayor Büyükkılıç for his support and said, “Mosaic ruins were found in the area where these works were carried out. We started the excavation here 3 years ago, thank you sir, under the direction of our Museum Directorate, with the support of our Metropolitan Municipality. During these excavations, various points were revealed, starting from the first areas found. "It is growing and expanding every year," he said.
MOSAIC BASES HAVE RECENTLY REACHED UP TO 600 SQUARE METERS
Emphasizing that the mosaic floors have recently increased up to 600 meters, Dursun said, “When we first looked, we see that the mosaic floors, which were 300 square meters in the first period, have reached up to 600 square meters in the recent period. It was unearthed in an area of 3 thousand square meters. When evaluated as a whole, we came to the conclusion that this place dates back to the 600th century, but with data dating back to the 4rd century, data used in later periods was reached. "The fact that the floor mosaics are of very high quality and quality suggests that this place was used as a very important villa in its period," he said.
“WE HAVE COMED TO THE END OF OUR WORK THIS YEAR”
Dursun stated that they saw traces of different civilizations in every corner of Kayseri and said, “On one side, a Latin inscription was seen in the place shown as the main reception hall, and Greek inscriptions were also unearthed. There are mostly mosaics with geometric ornaments. We see traces of different civilizations in every corner of Kayseri, the city of civilizations. When we look at Kültepe, we reach 7 thousand years of history. İncesu reflects the traces of a different civilization in an area where we are currently located, the mosaics here are of very high quality. "We have come to an end in our work this year," he said.
Dr. Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University (NEVÜ) Department of Art History, who served as the scientific consultant of the excavations. Can Erpek said, “We would like to thank our Metropolitan Municipality Mayor and İncesu Mayor for their contribution to us. "We have been continuing the excavations as of 2020 under the chairmanship of the museum," he said.
“THIS CONTINUED TO BE USED AFTER TURKS ARRIVED AFTER ROMAN AND BYZANTINE”
Stating that the data goes back to the 3rd century and that the house was used by the Turks after the Romans and Byzantines, Erpek said, “It is possible to say that the first construction phase, which we initially thought was the 4th century, dates back to the 3rd century. In our studies, we may be able to find data that it dates back to an earlier period in Rome. According to current data, it started in the 3rd century. When we evaluate it with archaeological data, we have data from the 6th century. The structure continues to be used during the Byzantine period. "Then, it continued to be used after the Turks came to the region during the Turkish-Islamic period," he said.
“WE MAY ALSO HAVE REACHED THE RESIDENCE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR IN EMPIRE PROPERTIES”
Providing information about the example of civil architecture, Erpek stated that it could be one of the imperial properties and said:
“We are talking about a high-end residence spread over a very large area, a residence with 33 rooms, we have not reached the limits of this residence, we foresee that the current residence will expand even further with our excavations that will continue next year. When we think of Cappadocia and the Central Anatolia Region, which has very valuable floor mosaics, we do not see floor mosaics on such a large residential floor. We know that there were many imperial properties in the Cappadocia region during the Roman and Byzantine periods. We encounter the name Hyacinthus in the inscriptions, we think that he is one of the rulers and administrators of the region, we examine the sources. As we access the data, we may have reached the residence of an important high-level administrator of the imperial estates in the region; such a residence has not been reached until now. “Our excavations will continue next year.”
PRAYERS AND THANKS TO MAYOR BÜYÜKKILIÇ FROM THE RESIDENTS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD
The residents of the neighborhood both prayed and thanked Mayor Büyükkılıç and said, "This place has been a great blessing for our village, you have a special place, may God bless you, my president," while Büyükkılıç said, "Our elders said, 'Spring does not come with a single flower. "There is no stone wall," he replied, "and we are trying to do something together."