From early July to late September 2017, an international team of scientists from Germany, Turkey, Syria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, and Italy conducted excavations in the ancient city of Doliche near Gaziantep. The work was led by Prof. Engelbert Winter from the Asia Minor Research Center, University of Münster, and Michael Blömer from the Centre for Urban Network Evolutions, Aarhus University.
The 2017 campaign pursued three objectives. Firstly, an intensive survey was initiated in the urban area on the so-called Keber Tepe to answer fundamental questions about the extent of the city and its chronology. Approximately one third of the urban area has been examined so far. The evaluation of the finds has only just begun, but important results are already emerging. It is already apparent that the site was inhabited in pre-Hellenistic times. Doliche reached its greatest extent during the Roman to early Byzantine period. Numerous Stone Age finds also confirm that Keber Tepe is a very significant Stone Age site.
The second focus of the work involved continuing excavations in a late antique building complex that had been partially uncovered in 2015. By now, 150 square meters of a large columned hall flanked by two side aisles have been exposed. The entire space is covered with a high-quality mosaic floor dating from around 400 AD, which – as this year’s findings show – lies atop an older, equally exquisite mosaic floor. The structure appears to be a church, as suggested both by its architecture and finds such as fragments of marble tables. Further investigation of the complex will make an important contribution to understanding religious life in Doliche during late antiquity.
The third work area consisted of excavations in the public center of the city, which had been located in the eastern part of the urban area based on geophysical survey results. Initial test trenches confirmed this assumption. Sections of a very large building were uncovered, which can be interpreted as a bathing facility from the Roman Imperial period.
Additionally, massive foundations of a public building complex have been discovered. The find of over 1000 seal impressions indicates that the city archive of Doliche was also located here. Continuing the work in the coming years offers a unique opportunity to uncover and study the city center from the Roman period.
Overall, the research in Doliche proves to be not only of great scientific importance but also offers the opportunity to create an attractive archaeological park with significant tourism potential on the outskirts of Gaziantep in the future.
In cooperation with the DAI Istanbul, a comprehensive restoration project was launched at the sanctuary of Jupiter Dolichenus on Dülük Baba Tepesi. The goal is the sustainable conservation and presentation of key areas of the sanctuary. The focus of this campaign was on the conservation of the Iron Age construction phases.
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