First results on the restoration of the Palace in Pella

Until now, very little could be seen of the excavations carried out inside the walls of the Royal Palace in Pella. 

The Palace occupied a strategic hillside, north of the city of Pella. It offered a sweeping view over the surrounding farmland, the port, the lagoon, and the two access roads from the city’s Agora. So far, seven major buildings have been identified, spread over a series of stepped terraces.  

In August 2022, I shared the news that the Palace had been opened to visitors (see: Welcome to the Royal Palace of Pella), but that turned out to be a dead-end lead because the site really opened to the public in the first days of January 2026. The reason for this delay is not given. The billboard on the site, as included in my earlier blog, is still there, unchanged. What happened on the ground remains an open question. 

Reconstructed sections of the Palace of Pella. Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture

[from The Greek Reporter]

The outline of the seven Buildings today appears to be marked with white pebbles in those places where even the remaining stones are problematic. The identification of the rooms has not progressed beyond the Andron (Building I), to the right of the Propylon entrance, and the Palaestra (Building V) and its swimming pool west of the Royal Residence. The other buildings are tentatively linked to certain functions, but without conviction. After all, the army officers and Royal Pages needed a place to stay, as suggested in Building V. Where to locate the Palace’s kitchen? Buildings VII and III have been tentatively dedicated to workshops or storage areas. 

Andron, the main hall in the northern part of Building I, is destined to host the royal banquets. Aerial view before restoration.

[from The Palace of Pella]

I still can’t get over the emptiness of the Palace, where close to nothing is left to show its grandeur, except its size that spreads further than what has been brought to light so far. The complex not only represented power and living quarters, but also functioned as a center of administration and military planning. 

How come the city of Pella proper has so many more signs of prosperity and wealth to show than the Royal Palace? The Romans thoroughly looted the Palace in 168 BC, and an earthquake in the 1^st century AD seriously damaged the structure. In later centuries, the locals helped themselves to the readily available stones for their own constructions, leaving mere crumbs. 

On the occasion of this opening, two Hellenistic statues discovered in 2015 in the Agora of Pella are being added to the Archaeological Museum of Pella. One statue is that of a woman, the other has been identified as Silenus, a mythological figure related to Dionysus. 

Selinus [from The Greek Reporter]

Apparently, no statues have been unearthed in or around the Royal Palace, but no statuettes, vessels, shards of pottery, or bits of jewelry are mentioned either … 

Gadara holds one of the world’s longest underground aqueducts

Gadara has been identified as the ancient city half-hidden beneath modern Umm Qais in Jordan. 

Until late Hellenistic times, the citizens of Gadara had to rely on a variety of cisterns that collected rainwater. So far, no less than 75 such reservoirs have been identified with a storage capacity varying from 6 to 450 cubic meters. After the arrival of the Romans in the 1^st century BC, the growing population spread out over a wider area, needing more water than the cisterns could provide. 

Water had to be brought into Gadara from a spring 11 kilometers away. It probably flowed through a series of clay pipes buried underground, called Qanat Turab, making a detour around the valleys. Near Gadara, the water crossed another valley by means of a bridge and reached a tunnel under the city’s Acropolis. From here, it was distributed to the baths, Nymphaeums, and houses. 

By the end of the 1^st century AD, however, the population of Gadara and neighboring settlements had exploded to reach about 50,000 people. To meet their needs, a daily debit of 300-400 liters per person was required. Together with the cities of Adra’a and Abila, Gadara decided to build a second long-distance water supply running through a series of tunnels cut in the rock. The project, known as Qanat Fir’aun, was started in 90 AD to be completed in several phases by 210 AD. It is known to have been functioning until the devastating earthquake of 747 AD, which destroyed Gadara. 

[Picture from Culture in Crisis, credit Paul Fischer]

I already touched on the subject in my earlier post, Preservation of the Roman aqueduct at Gadara, without digging deeper into the prowess of the Roman engineers. This elaborate structure started at a reservoir at Wadi Harier, near the Syrian border village of Dille, with a storage capacity of 4 to 6 million cubic meters. The water covered a distance of 170 kilometers to Gadara using gravity, in this case, a gradient of about 217 meters! How these engineers from antiquity managed to figure this out without the help of our modern technology is a pure wonder. For a good 100 kilometers of its course, the water ran through a system of tunnels. On its way, 14 tributaries from Lake Muzarib in southern Syria and several springs added their waters to the main stream. For the maintenance of the entire system, karezes or qanats, providing underground access, were added at regular intervals. 

Access to both aqueducts can be found on the Acropolis of Gadara, i.e., where the remains of the abandoned Ottoman village of Umm Qais now stand. Today’s tourist can visit the last section of this 170-kilometer-long tunnel in a guided tour. A real treat!

Abukir, including Canopus and Thonis-Heracleion

The waters along the Egyptian Coast hold a treasure trove of statues, columns, reliefs, and other architectural elements. Flooded ancient city streets with their temples, abandoned harbors and wooden ships yield a great number of surprises. 

Centuries before the foundation of Alexandria by Alexander the Great, the Greeks had established trade centers in Egypt. The oldest was Thonis-Heracleion in the 8^th century BC (see: Heracleion, ancient Greek port in Egypt), located six kilometers northeast of Abukir. Canopus was first mentioned in the 6^th century BC and lies right next to Abukir, nowadays on the edge of modern Alexandria. 

Since 1992, underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio has been investigating the larger area of the Bay of Abukir together with the Egyptian Ministry for Antiquities. In 2000, thanks to his advanced sonar and magnetic scanning technology, he discovered Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus (see: Getting around in the Nile Delta). He has founded the Institut Européen d’Archéologie Sous-Marine (IEASM) and works closely with a team of archaeologists, Egyptologists, historians, geologists, geophysicists, computer engineers, and the like. He regularly shares his finds on his own website, which contains a wonderful page with pictures of his discoveries. Clicking on a picture reveals the full story of the artifact. 

[Picture from Egypt Museum by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra] 

My absolute favorite is this stunning statue, representing Queen Arsinoe II, the sister-wife of King Ptolemy II, that was discovered in the flooded ruins of Canopus.

The queen’s portrayal here is more Greek than Egyptian. She is the embodiment of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, especially thanks to the “wet look” of her dress clinging to her body. After Arsinoe died in 270 BC, Ptolemy II issued a decree that all temples of Egypt should host a cult statue of the divine Arsinoe. So much to honor one’s spouse! 

But, of course, you are free to pick your own preference and learn more about the great work done by Franck Goddio all those years. There is more than enough for future generations to discover under the sandy bottom of Abukir’s Bay.

Kayseri and its hidden Hippodrome

Kayseri was called Caesarea. To be named after Caesar, in this case Emperor Tiberius, who reigned from 14 AD to 37 AD, underscores its importance. 

The city was founded around 2000 BC as a trading post for the Hittites and the Assyrians. In Hellenistic times, it was known as Mazaka, and changed name again into Eusebia under Cappadocian rule. 

[Picture from Arkeonews]

The Hippodrome, however, is attributed to the Romans and was probably built in the 1^st century BC or early 1^st century AD. It has not been excavated yet, as it lies underneath the local market, which in turn sits on an ancient landfill that was heavily used from 1950 until 1980. Ten thousand tons of debris were deposited, creating a layer nearly 20 meters thick. It remained hidden until its contours appeared in a 19^th-century drawing, where it was labeled a Circus. 

The Roman Hippodrome is one of the three known examples found in Anatolia, i.e., in Ephesos and Pergamon. This structure is about 450 meters long, and its outlines with the curved ends remain intact. 

In late antiquity, Caesarea was an important city that may have counted 50,000 inhabitants. It sat on the main trade routes connecting to the Persian Royal Road and linking Sinope to the Euphrates.

There are no plans yet to start the excavation of the Hippodrome, partly because of the local open-air market that is still held there, partly because of the tons of debris that need to be removed. In the meantime, the site is registered as a protected area and will be monitored with geophysical equipment to gather as much information as possible. 

The tomb of Alexander the Great

The tales about the tomb of Alexander are countless, varying from pure myth and wishful thinking to serious studies and well-documented analysis. 

In August 2021, I posted a summary of what was known so far: Endless fuss over the tomb of Alexander the Great. Here, I included the name of Greek archaeologist Liana Souvaltzi, who assumed that the king’s mummy was transferred to Siwah as Ptolemy fulfilled Alexander’s wish. In her theory, she ignored the recorded visits of the Roman emperors to Alexander's tomb in Alexandria. 

Liana Souvaltzi started excavating the Temple of Amon-Ra in Siwah in 1989, but in 1995, the Greek and Egyptian governments suddenly blocked her permit without explanation. 

[Reconstruction of what the monument in the Siwa Oasis would have once looked like. Credit: Liana Souvaltzi]

In my mind, her story was one of many, like the one I posted in October 2024:  Another pertinent theory about Alexander’s Tomb that was another dead-end road.

It now transpires that I missed Liana Souvaltzi's plea published in December 2014, also in Ancient Origins, upon their invitation. The full story can be read in this article. I'm quoting a few of the key arguments hereafter, in italics.

The archaeological site is 15 kilometers west of the Ammon Temple, which is in the town of Siwa. The area where the tomb is located is named El Maraki. The tomb complex covers an enormous area of 12,000 square meters, of which 5,000 square meters were excavated.

From the size of the tomb itself, which is 51m long and has an outer width of 10.25m, it is obvious that it could only have been destined for use as a burial monument for the worship of a very important person, such as a king. The tomb sits on a rock, underneath which lies an enormous gold mine, the first found in the western desert. It consists of an entrance, corridor, and three chambers.

It is a good argumentation and certainly raises questions about the presence of Greek architectural elements in Siwah and the size/purpose of the monument. A link with Alexander is not impossible. However, although the monument she defined as a tomb was colossal, it contained no actual tomb or sarcophagus to prove Alexander's presence. 

[Cleaning up the corridor leading to the tomb. Credit: Liana Souvaltzi]

There were, however, three inscriptions referring to Alexander:

Finally, we found three different honorary inscriptions written in Greek uppercase letters. The first inscription could be dated from its text to between 290 and 284 BC. The first line of the inscription bore the name ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ ΑΜΜΩΝΟΣ ΡΑ (ALEXANDER AMMON RA).

The second inscription can be dated between 108 and 115 BC and is an honorary inscription and was placed by the Emperor Traianus in honour of Alexander, whom he admired and respected as a god.

The third inscription is a fragment which indicates the number of the inhabitants of the oasis and the army, which was a part of the military forces assigned to guard the royal tomb of Alexander the Great.

The discovery of these inscriptions and their meanings was announced in the course of the Italian – Egyptian Congress in Rome on 15 November 1995.

In line with the earlier and later theories that circulate on the tomb of Alexander and its whereabouts, there is the thorough destruction of this Siwah Tomb. The floors, walls, corridors, and decorative elements have been destroyed and turned into a flooded garbage dump. 

Whatever promising tracks scholars and archaeologists investigate to find the last resting place of this great conqueror, they are stopped in their efforts at one point or another. Poor Alexander! He deserves so much more attention, care, and respect.

Roman glassware, as good as new

I have always been fascinated by Roman glassware in all its shapes, forms, and colors (see: The beauty of ancient glassware). 

Yet, I never came across glassware that survived in such pristine condition as that retrieved from the Cape Corse shipwreck in 2023. It lies on a Roman commercial route connecting Luna (modern Luni, Italy) to Massalia (modern Marseille), between Cape Corse in Corsica and the island of Capraia in Italy. It is the second known find with a cargo of almost exclusively glass, either in its raw state as blocks of various sizes or in the finished product of blown glass tableware. 

[Picture from Soprintendenza Nazionale per il Patrimonio Culturale Subacqueo]

The ship sank around 100 AD, and although it was discovered in 2013, we had to wait ten years for an international team of researchers to explore the wreck with two underwater drones. This modern equipment allowed them to retrieve the major part of its precious cargo using a very delicate claw system. 

A few thousand glass artifacts have been recovered, including drinking glasses, bottles, plates, cups, small bowls, and an ointment jar; also two bronze basins and several amphorae of different type such as oriental, the Beirut type, and four Gallic vessels. Combined with the raw glass, this find led the archaeologists to believe that the ship must have originated from a port in the Middle East, possibly Lebanon or Syria, and was headed towards the coast of Provence in Southern France. 

The Syrians were probably the first to have mastered the art of glass blowing as early as the 1^st century BC. Craftsmen from Sidon, Aleppo, Hama, and Palmyra developed the technique of using a blowpipe to shape molten glass, which allowed them to create objects faster than from cast glass. As a result, Syria became one of the most important glass production centers in the world, before, during, and after the Roman Empire. 

The main trade route started in Antioch (modern Antakya in Turkey) to supply the markets of Alexandria, Byzantium, and Rome, which, in turn, had steady connections with Massalia.

The question remains, how these thousands of glass objects were still undamaged and survived in such good conditions after resting at the bottom of the Mediterranean for two thousand years.

Kastabala, Hellenistic Hierapolis

It happens quite frequently that two or more cities go by the same name. That can be very tricky if we don’t pay attention. 

I actually stopped in my tracks when I saw a picture of the ancient city of Hierapolis built at the foot of a 35-meter-high hill crowned with a medieval tower. Hierapolis, as I know it, stands next to the famous Pamukkale hot springs, roughly 140 kilometers east of Aydin. Clearly, these are two different sites. 

[Picture from Turkisch Archaeological News]

In my earlier blog, Hierapolis, stepchild of Pamukkale, I developed the fascinating remains of Hierapolis/Pamukkale. The other city was known originally as Kastabala and changed its name to Hierapolis or Hieropolis in Hellenistic times. It lies much further to the East in Cilicia, on the Ceyhan River, halfway between Adana and Gaziantep. Alexander crossed the Ceyhan River after his illness in Tarsus on his way to Issus. 

As a matter of convenience, I’ll call this eastern city Hieropolis to avoid confusion. It was famous for its sanctuary of Artemis Perasia, where priestesses allegedly walked barefoot over hot coals during their rituals. The origins of Kastabala, however, go back some 2,700 years, and thus must have existed in Alexander’s time. 

Archaeological excavations in Hieropolis started in 2009 and so far have exposed mainly Roman remains of city walls, a 200-meter-long and 11-meter-wide colonnaded street, an Agora, public baths, temples, and a theater. This theater has been dated to the 1^st century AD and could seat 5,000 people. As so often, it would be the place for citizens’ debate and intellectual exchange. The Acropolis of Greek Kastabala is probably hidden underneath the medieval castle. 

[Picture from ZME Science]

This year, 2025, five fine theatrical masks were unearthed, among which one represents an elderly philosopher. In all, 36 masks have been retrieved. They typically blend Eastern and Western elements and will eventually contribute to restoring the theater stage to its former glory. 

Given the cultural heritage of the site, it makes sense that the reliefs — some depicting tragic heroes, others comic performers — embody a place where Greek drama, Roman architecture, and Anatolian myth intertwined. 

The use of opium in antiquity

Opium may be best known from the mid-19th-century Opium Wars in China. More recently, it was associated with Afghanistan, which provided nearly the entire world's production of opium, that is, until the Taliban decided in 2022 that it went against their religious beliefs. 

New in this context, however, is to learn that opium was a common good in ancient Egypt! 

[Picture from Phys.org ]

Researchers from the Yale Ancient Pharmacology Program (YAPP) studied the organic residues found on or within ancient vessels, providing insight into the diets and lifestyles of ancient people. 

A close examination of an Egyptian alabaster vase revealed traces of opiates that proved the use of opium in antiquity. This vase carries an inscription in four languages Akkadian, Elamite, Persian, and Egyptian. It is dedicated to King Xerxes I of Persia (486-465 BC), who had conquered Egypt in his expansion wars both westwards and eastwards. Inscriptions on vessels are very rare in ancient Egypt, as fewer than ten examples are known worldwide. This particular vase, 22 centimeters tall, holds a second text in Demotic, a simplified form of Egyptian, indicating that it had a capacity of 1.2 liters. 

The presence of opium has led to further investigation, indicating that far more alabaster vessels contained traces of opiate than expected, including those recovered from the Tomb of Tutankhamun. During its discovery in 1922, Howard Carter had noted the presence of a dark brown, sticky, aromatic substance inside the vessels without being able to identify it. Obviously, it was not some kind of perfume or unguent, but a product important enough to accompany the pharaoh into the afterlife. 

Modern researchers concluded that opium was used well beyond medicinal purposes, as mentioned by Hippocrates (see: A healthy mind in a healthy body – in early antiquity) and Galen (see: Hello? Dr. Galen?). It played a clear ritual role in many cultures, reaching from Mesopotamia to the Aegean. The earliest discovery of opiate residues was made in a merchant’s family tomb in Sedment, south of Cairo, dating back to before the 11^th century BC. 

It is amazing that a full century after its discovery, Tutankhamun’s Tomb has not yet revealed all its secrets and presently helps to clarify the role of opium in antiquity.

The healing waters of Myra

Who would have expected to find healing waters in Myra?
 
As mentioned earlier, the excavations in Myra are hampered by modern Demre, which is built on top of the ancient city (see: Recent excavations in Myra and Andriake). As a result, expropriations are never easy, but this time, luck is on the side of archaeologists as a disaffected industrial zone has become available. The terrain is located about halfway between Demre and the ancient port of Andriake.

[Picture from tuerkei-antik]

The site made headlines with the discovery of a Nymphaeum from the 2^nd century AD, built over a natural spring which is rich in magnesium, iron, sulfur, and phosphorus. This, by itself, is rare enough to make it stand out among the usual water monuments. It is believed to belong to a ‘healing water complex” comparable to a modern wellness center. The water source, constantly bubbling from underground, lies directly beneath this Nymphaeum and is connected to the nearby Baths, aqueducts, and water cisterns.
 
The monumental construction from the days of Emperor Hadrian shows three separate arched entrance gates, both on the east and west sides. It combines architectural elements carved into the bedrock and walls of cut stone.
 
The Nymphaeum functioned until the 7^th century AD, i.e., when the harbor of Andriake silted up and fell into disuse.
 
The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism has an ambitious vision to create a major attraction park where visitors will be able to swim in the healing waters while exploring the ruins. It reminds me of the pool at the bottom of Hierapolis, where we can swim among the crumbled remains of the Nymphaeum and its marble portico, possibly belonging to the Temple of Apollo. The plan should be completed by the end of 2026.

Restoration of Hadrian’s Nymphaeum in Sagalassos

It is always a pleasure to return to Sagalassos where the first excavations started in 1989 by Professor Marc Waelkens from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium (see: Sagalassos in Alexander's campaign). 

Year after year, new buildings are being exposed while existing monuments undergo diligent restorations. The huge Antonine Nymphaeum is stealing the show after water started flowing black into the wide basin for the past fifteen years, reflecting the elegant statues that adorn this fountain. 

[Picture from Turkiye Today]

One level lower on the same hillside stands the Nymphaeum of Hadrian, discovered in 2002. It is hard to imagine that it has two levels of columns and statues of gods and prominent figures, just as the Antonine Nymphaeum. As yet, the water channels connected to the pool are visible between the six-meter-tall columns at ground level. The most striking elements are the reliefs of the Muses resting against the water basin. Archaeologists expect that water will flow again from the second level of the monument, as is the case at the Antonine Nymphaeum. They aim for this project to materialize within two years. 

Meanwhile, the steps in front of the fountain have been reinforced, and the scattered original stones have been put back into place. The fountain holds an inscription confirming that it was built between 129 and 132 AD in memory of Emperor Hadrian as commanded by Tiberius Claudius Piso.