1,400-year-old bronze cauldron found Pergamon’s mosaic house

In the yard of the Roman-era residential complex in Pergamon (the mean Valgama of modern western Turkey), a rare ancient bronze cauldron has been unearthed. The cauldron is complete and in its original state. It is estimated that by the 7th century, the luxury house was a creeping villa, known as a mosaic house after its elaborate mosaic floor, which was abandoned after being burned down in an Arab raid.

A large bronze cauldron was found in a slate pond in the central courtyard. It seemed to have fallen in the pool before the villa was abandoned, so despite the high copper price, it has never recovered.

Excavation Director Dr. Sezgin said: “Bronze is an important material, especially in this type of structure, in ancient times. The most commonly used material in daily life is Terracotta or ceramic products. However, bronze is an expensive and valuable material. Therefore, it was used in more professional areas and in specific purposes elsewhere, it was found here, it was found here, it was found here, it was found here, it was not seen again in ancient times. It was important.

Pergamon was settled at least as early as the 8th century BC, and for centuries, under the control of Greek allies and Persian empires. Alexander the Great permanently liberated him from Persian control. Only a few artifacts survived the ancient city, while the walls and foundations of two 4th-century temples are a small part. It became the capital of the Pergamon Kingdom in the 3rd century BC. It flourished as the main center of Greek culture, with a famous library, a theater and a huge Acropolis on the hilltop. The huge Pergamon altar, now presented in the museum dedicated to Berlin, is considered one of the greatest wonders of Greek art and architecture.

The last king bequeathed the city to the Roman Republic in 133 BC and was absorbed by the Asian province. Under the leadership of the Roman Empire, Pergamon was once again expanded and transformed, and by the mid-2nd century it was one of the largest cities in Rome in Asia. Its shrine is the center of health and rehabilitation for the entire empire.

The city was damaged by earthquakes and Gothic attacks in the 3rd century, and its economy was close to collapse during the crisis in the third century (235-284 AD). It recovered a certain amount of recovery in the 4th century, but under the pressure of repeated Arab raids in the 7th century, it restored the more defendable Acropolis of Athens, while the rest of the Hellenistic and Roman cities remained.

The mosaic house was built at the heyday of the city between the 2nd and 3rd centuries and was later revised repeatedly. The ornate mosaic floors feature floral and geometric patterns in several colors, which were popular among Greek mosaic works found in wealthy houses in Anatolia in the third and fourth centuries.

Interesting elements recovered from other locations were found in the villa complex, most notably the sealed roof tiles from the Greek era were printed on “basike”, meaning “to belong to the king.” These were used in the royal buildings of the Acropolis of Athens, but the examples found in mosaic houses are the only completely complete seal in Pergamon. Another recyclable work was found in the same courtyard pool where patina was found all: it was a tombstone engraved with the “cutest child in the world” commissioned by the mother. It adorns the carvings of the kid and his dog hunting rabbit.

Byzantine tombs found at this site the last Byzantine funeral of Pergamon before the Islamic conquest. Several of the tombs contained more than one funeral, and evidence showed that Pergamon had very little resources during the last days of Byzantine rule. The bronze ship abandoned in the rain pool will be more valuable during times of shrinkage and scarcity. Someone had to get there as soon as possible and leave everything behind.