The objects found during the excavations are displayed in museums in Paris, Berlin and Istanbul. This was due to the flooding and silting up caused by the river, covering whole city but protecting it from the treasure hunters for many centuries.įirst excavations in Magnesia started in 1891 by Carl Humann from the University of Berlin and lasted for about 2 years, during which partial or complete sections of the theater, prytaneion, temple and altar of Artemis, agora, and the temple of Zeus were un-earthed from the heavily sedimented site. Magnesia was never badly destroyed as happened with many other ancient cities in the region, most of the ruins today are intact. The city had a grid plan and was surrounded by a big wall, covering an area of a 1,5 kilometers (1 mile) of diameter. The city preserved its status during the Roman period and became a religious center during the Byzantine period.ĭuring its heydays Magnesia was a big city positioned within the triangle of Priene, Ephesus and Tralles (ancient Aydin) holding its strategical and commercial importance. During the Hellenistic period Magnesia was ruled by Seleucos and then by the Kingdom of Pergamon. Due to the epidemic outbreaks caused by the continuous changing of the river bed of the Meander and for the fact of being open to Persian invasions, around 400 BC Magnetes moved their city to its actual location next to Gumuscay river. The location of the first city of Magnesia is not known, but it's said to be somewhere along the Meander river (today's Büyük Menderes) near Bafa Lake, which was a bay on the Aegean Sea back then so it was accessible by the boats. The ruins are located on the side of the main road connecting Ortaklar to Söke and there are permanent ongoing excavations since 1984.Īccording to the legends and ancient sources, Magnesia was founded by settlers called as Magnetes who came from Thessalia (Thessaly) on Greek mainland, following an oracle of Apollo and led by their leader Leukippos. Magnesia is located at Tekinköy, near Ortaklar district of Aydin province in the Aegean region of Turkey, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Izmir.
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