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Sponsored by the German Research Association (DFG) and İstanbul University’s Research Fund, the project, headed by Professor Önder Bilgi, Docent Dr. Sümer Atalay and Munich University’s Docent Dr. Latife Sümmerer, is expected to take five years and be carried out in four stages.
The first stage will entail preliminary research. The second and third stages will establish the topographical structure of the land and set the stage for excavations. The fourth and last stage will entail the publication and worldwide distribution of the information and results gained from the project.
Dr. Sümer Atalay says the project is expected to produce important data about the cultural relationships between Mediterranean civilizations and the peoples of Anatolia.
A COMMERCIAL CENTER
Explaining that the region was an important commercial center throughout ancient history, Dr. Atalay says this is the first such comprehensive cultural study conducted in Turkey. It is known that many artifacts that can be traced to this region have been found in digs conducted in Bulgaria, Romania, Southern Russia and Georgia. The excavation in Amisos is important in that it will uncover many of the cultural ties between the peoples of these regions, asserts Atalay.
NEW DISCOVERIES AHEAD
Docent Dr. Latife Sümmerer says the Amisos project is also expected to reveal settlements that have so far gone undiscovered. Calling attention to the increase of illegal excavations in the area, Dr. Sümmerer says this has prevented a scientific study from taking place up until now. Expressing her hope that the artifacts taken out of the country would be traced and catalogued, Dr. Sümmerer says that a great deal of information about the area will be available to scientists as the result of this study.
Samsun Archeological Museum’s Director Mustafa Akkaya has expressed his belief that the Samsun project would be a cultural breakthrough not only for the province but also for Anatolian history as a whole.
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