A stone quarry, thought to have been used in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, was found in the village of Tırazlı in the district of Karabağlar in İzmir. Breccia blocks and columns were transported from Tırazlı Kesikkaya Antique Stone Quarry, which was revealed during the four-year surveys supported by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, to Smyrna Ancient City.
An ancient stone quarry was found in Tırazlı Village in the district of Karabağlar in İzmir. Tırazlı-Kesikkaya Antique Stone Quarry is thought to have been used extensively in the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
Smyrna Ancient City Excavation Director Assoc. Dr. Akın Ersoy said that the roughly processed stone blocks extracted from this quarry were launched by sleds using the existing stream beds and transported by sea to Smyrna / İzmir Port by barges.
At the same time, he worked as a faculty member at Izmir Katip Çelebi University Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, Department of Turkish-Islamic Archeology. Dr. Stating that extracting the stone material from the quarry and transporting it to the construction site is a labor-intensive and costly task, Ersoy said, “The stone blocks that were transported to the ancient port, which coincided with today's Kemeraltı, are probably stored in a suitable area, in an area like today's container storage areas. moved to the construction site. For example, it was transported to Smyrna Agora and used or placed in the place determined in the architectural project of the building after the fine workmanship was done.
Fulfilled Smyrna's stone need
Assoc. Dr. Reminding that some important criteria were taken into consideration in the location of cities in the Ancient Age, Ersoy said: “For example, analyzes are made on where and how to meet the needs of clay, sand and timber, which are necessary in the construction of the city, as well as the monumental walls of the city such as theater, temple and agora. The locations of the marble and similar quarries that would be required in the construction of the buildings were also determined. Urban planners, architects and stonemasons of the period used to determine the needs and supply points of the city one by one. " Stating that stone quarries are important in the monumental buildings of the Ancient Age, Assoc. Dr. Ersoy said, “Tırazlı-Kesikkaya Quarry is understood to be a quarry that was used in the beginning of the Hellenistic Period, on the Kadifekale-Kemeraltı axis of Smyrna City since its foundation. "It is understood that this quarry was used more actively to meet the needs of the magnificent monumental buildings of Smyrna, which was growing and enriched especially in the Roman Period, especially in the Roman Period, with ceramic finds and the blocks and columns preserved in cut-in-place."
Assoc. Dr. Ersoy emphasized that a single quarry cannot meet the stone needs of the buildings of a large city, and they also knew that there were other quarries, and said, "However, it is understood that many columns of brecciated recrystallized limestone found in the Agora of Smyrna came from this quarry."
The historical geography of Smyrna should be protected
Stating that there were various equipments around the city center in ancient times as well as today, Assoc. Dr. Ersoy continued his words as follows: “In this sense, there are mills, farms, villages, quarries, water resources and castles in the countryside of Smyrna. Rural areas of cities with these facilities are defined as the historical geography of that city. Such areas or reinforcements constitute the historical heritage and accumulation of the ancient city. Unfortunately, today they are under threat and these areas, which are part of the historical memory of cities, need to be protected. Initially, these points should be registered as protected areas. Then, residents and relevant enforcement authorities should protect such areas, ”he said.
The survey conducted by Izmir Katip Çelebi University with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the support of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality ended in 2019.
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