Archaeological excavations continue at Antakya Ancient Hippodrome and the surrounding area in Hatay.
Work continues at the ancient racecourse in the Küçükdalyan district of Antakya district, within the scope of the “Heritage for the Future Project” of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. During the excavations, most of the monumental structure known as the “spina,” which divided the racing area into two, was unearthed. Excavation director Pamir said the hippodrome can accommodate 80 thousand people, is 500 meters long and about 100 meters wide. Stating that the upper layer of the spine located in the middle of the hippocampus is covered with mosaics, Pamir said excavations are continuing with teams in the area. “OUR MAIN GOAL IS TO MAKE THIS PLACE SHOWN”
Pamir stated that they want the area to be open to visitors and said: “This year, we have increased our work on the ancient hippodrome. Our main goal is to bring the area to life and make it a navigable and usable place.”
Archaeologist Pelin Kayaş also stated that excavations are continuing in places reflecting public and social life located north and south of the racecourse. Kayaş said they found traces of three different public buildings during the excavation: “We discovered iron slag, glass and crucibles, where production activities took place, which we think could have been workshops. In addition, we found finds related to domestic use. We know that the hippodromes had social entertainment areas around them, just like today. Here, we also found pieces of musical instruments. made of bones, games made of both stone and bone, and many other things.” dice. This gave us intense entertainment.” It shows that you have a life.”
