One of the oldest Hellenistic mosaics in Anatolia

One of the oldest Hellenistic mosaics in Anatolia has been discovered in the ancient ruins of Assos in the Çanakkale province in northwestern Turkey. The mosaic is about 2,200 years old and originally the floor of the gymnasium. Its appeal proved to be durable, so when the building was transformed into a private residence in Byzantine times, it was intact and largely unscathed.

It is a three colors made of polygonal stone to create exquisite geometric and plant patterns. A large six-leaf rose plug is surrounded by a circle inside a square border, with circles in each corner. The next band consists of triangles and has a cross-circle design again at the corners. Then there is a wave band, followed by a Greek key twist belt.

In the latest season of excavation (44th since the restoration of the Digs in 1981) is a huge grave of the Roman era. Archaeologists first thought the solid stone-cutting structure might be a fountain, but they realized it was a “Heroon”, a shrine dedicated to the Greek and Roman religions of cult heroes, which was also a grave that was very important to the Athos community, for example, the founder of the city.

Located on the only deep natural harbor on the Aegean coast for 50 miles, Assos was founded by colonists from the island of Lesbos in the 7th century BC It was conquered by Alexander the Great in 334 BC and continued to be ruled by his successors of the Seleucid chaos, later becoming part of the Kingdom of Pergamum until it fell under control of the Roman Republic in 133 BC