Home Curiosity Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Greek Mosaics In Pristine Condition, There’s Nothing Like It

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Greek Mosaics In Pristine Condition, There’s Nothing Like It

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Everyone is curious to find out and learn something more about the past. Just imagine how exciting would it be if you uncovered something which was created thousands of years ago.

Professor Kutalmış Görkay of Ankara University and his team of archaeologists experienced such thrill. They had the honor to uncover three ancient Greek mosaics created 2,220 years ago.

The mosaics were uncovered in the Turkish city of Zeugma located not far from the border of Syria.

Archaeologists were in a hurry to find out what was there to be found because back in 2007 a flood was expected in Zeugma because of a construction of a dam.

The team of archaeologists were worried that the flood will destroy the ancient treasures of Zeugma and got busy immediately.

During this quest of uncovering ancient treasures, they came across three ancient Greek mosaics dating back from the 2nd century BC. Amazingly, the uncovered mosaics were almost intacted.

Even though the city of Zeugma is now 80 percent covered with water, the team continues to search, hoping to uncover more hidden artifacts.

See some of the beautiful artifacts uncovered by the team.

In the mosaic above you can admire the beauty of the nine Muses: Terpsichore, Ourania, Clio, Thalia, Melpomene, Erato, Euterpe, Calliope and Polymnia. During the period of the Renaissance, artists had the nine Muses as an inspiration since they were the first ones to discover many art forms.

In order to show appreciation and recognition of the nine Muses a great number of artists did art works on them.

In the mosaic above you can see Oceanus- the divine embodiment of the sea, together with his sister, Tethys-personification of the waters of the world.

Professor Görkay says that in the 2nd century BC there was at least one mosaic in many homes. Owning a mosaic in your home was helpful for holding social aspect.

Whenever people were guests in a house they would look at the mosaics, marvel at the beauty of these works of art while sipping wine and having a conversation with the host.

It was carefully considered by the homeowners which mosaic is suitable for which room. For instance a mosaic which portrayed lovers like Telete and Eros could be found in the bedroom.

The mosaic of Thalia- the muse of comedy and idyllic poetry is perfectly preserved. According to experts, Thalia’s face consists of special pieces of glass used only for the face of this mosaic. The mosaic of Thalia looks so lively and is a beautiful piece of art uncovered by the archaeologists. 

In this mosaic you can see Poseidon, the Greek God of the sea.

The city of Zeugma was a very important city back in the early BCs because of its location. It was located on the borders of the Greco-Roman world and the Persian Empire and had the role of a bridge which everybody had to cross.

Finally, after the fall of the Roman Empire, Zeugma city declined too. Zeugma finally fell in AD 253 when the city was attacked by Sassanids from Persia.

Since then the city was completely forgotten until the late expeditions conducted by professor Görkay and his team of archaeologists when incredible buried treasures were uncovered.

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