roman Ancyra

Abstract: Ankyra: Mητρόπολις τῆς Γαλατίας in the light of the new researches
This paper presents the results of the archaeological surveys on Roman Ancyra that were carried out
between 2002 and 2007. Extant ancient buildings of the city were evaluated and reassessed, as well
as non-extant archaeological remains that have been reported since 1555 by travelers and previous
scholars.
In addition, the surveys also dealt with the hitherto unpublished remains that were discovered in the
Ulus district during the modern construction activities that started with the establishment of the
Turkish Republic. Archival research was carried out in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General
Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations [and Ankara
Vehbi Koç Research Centre (VEKAM)]. Consequently, the remains of some buildings that were
mentioned in the inscriptions, whose location in the city was unknown, such as the stadium, the nyphaeum
and the palatium (?), were recognized with their almost exact provenance. Apart from these
buildings, this study examines the Temple of Augustus and Rome, the theatre, the cardo-maximus, a
colonnaded street, the Roman bath-gymnasium complex, a small Roman bath, the water dam, the
3rd-century city walls, the so-called Julian Column and the necropoleis of the city.
Building programs, which were accelerated in the city in the Augustan period and continued through
the 4th century AD, were also evaluated in a chorological sequence. The extant buildings were digitally
documented and their plans and elevations were redrawn. The project also aimed to reassess the
research history, description and dating of each building, evaluating the drawings together with the
information provided by early travelers, inscriptions, old photographs, published and unpublished
excavation reports, and comparisons with relevant parallels. Based on a digital map provided by the
Ankara Municipality, ancient city plan in which most of the ancient armatures of the city were plotted,
has been generated. Floating buildings were positioned in the city plan with precise digital coordinates
and measurements taken by total station. Extinct ancient buildings drawn and reported in the
archive documents were also placed in their almost intact locations in the city plan thanks to some
several available reference points. Thus, the project attained almost a complete digital ancient city
plan of Ankyra based on dependable archaeological data. Furthermore, the digital map also comprises
the street system of the city as well as the necropoleis, which shed light on the location of the
major ancient roads approaching to the city from the south-west and from the north.