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There’s A Museum At Zeugma Now!

There’s A Museum At Zeugma Now!

ITS CONSTRUCTION UNDERTAKEN IN 2008, THE ZEUGMA MOSAIC MUSEUM BEGAN HOSTING MAGNIFICENT MOSAICS LATE LAST MAY.

Found in rescue excavations mounted on the shores of Birecik Dam Resevoir in ‘land of pistacchios’ Nizip, the mosaics, which have been taken under protection, date back to the period of the Roman Empire.

AN EXTRAORDINARY VENUE FOR CULTURE TOURISM
Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum will become the worlds largest mosaic museum due to its diverse collection. Now it is attracting more visitors than ever with the Zeugma Mosaic Museum. The artifacts that are capturing the attention of international art and culture circles at the museum, where a total of 1,500 square meters of mosaics are on display, are such as to dazzle the eye. A bronze sculpture of Mars in particular has an aesthetic quality and unique importance in the museum’s collection. The museum’s collection of clay seals is also significant as a reflection of the culture of their period.

ROMAN VILLAS
The ancient city of Zeugma, which means bridge, was founded in the period of Alexander the Great, one of the most powerful conquerors history has ever seen. The original name of the city, founded in the time of Alexander, a Macedonian, and Seleucus, one of his generals, was Seleucia Euphrates. Developing into one of the biggest cities of the ancient Commagene Kingdom, the settlement came to be known as Zeugma when it came under Roman rule in the second half of the 1st century A.D. It was during that period that Zeugma’s trade and culture developed and it experienced its golden age. Unfortunately this development, which continued to the mid-3rd century A.D. was brought to an end by the Sasanian King Shapur I. Overrun by the Sasanian armies, Zeugma was sacked and destroyed.

RESCUING THE MOSAICS
Found in rescue excavations mounted in conjunction with dam and irrigation projects, the mosaics were accorded proper maintenance and preservation using scientific methods. They are among the most rare artifacts of their period. Strikingly represented on these mosaics, which adorned the villas of the Roman elite, are the cultural and aesthetic values of both ancient Greece and ancient Rome.