Turkey's first necropolis museum in Antalya: A historical journey on glass paths
The Necropolis Museum in Doğu Garajı, designed following excavations in an area once used as a "bus terminal and marketplace" in Antalya, takes its visitors on a historical journey over glass paths. Turkey's first necropolis museum, where 866 graves were discovered during rescue excavations, continues to host domestic and foreign tourists.
İHA
In the Çaybaşı neighborhood of Antalya's Muratpaşa district, some graves were unearthed in 2008 during excavation work for a business center and underground parking lot in an area once used as the "Festival Bazaar and Urban Public Transportation Center."
Following this, rescue work was carried out in the area between 2008 and 2011 under the leadership of the Antalya Museum Directorate. These efforts revealed numerous graves spanning a period from the Hellenistic Period to the Late Roman Period.
Along with the graves identified during project implementations in the Attaleia Necropolis area, nearly a thousand graves were discovered.
When evaluating the findings recovered from the graves, it was understood that the Attaleia Necropolis was used for approximately 700 years, from the beginning of the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD.
Many artifacts unearthed from the area began to be exhibited at the Antalya Museum.
REGISTERED AS A PROTECTED SITE
Grave remains from the Ancient Period emerged during the foundation excavation of the project, which began construction in 2008. In the rescue work carried out by the Museum Directorate between 2008 and 2010, 866 graves, 1,018 inventory-grade artifacts, and nearly 2,000 skeletons were uncovered.
The necropolis area was registered as a 1st-degree archaeological site on February 22, 2011. The Necropolis Museum was transferred from the Metropolitan Municipality to the Antalya Museum with a protocol signed on July 20, 2023.
MORE THAN 400 OBJECTS ON DISPLAY
The Antalya Necropolis Museum, which opened in Doğu Garajı as part of the festival at the final stop of the Turkey Culture Route Festival organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Antalya, takes its visitors on an unforgettable journey through history.
The Antalya Necropolis Museum, whose excavations were carried out by the Antalya Archaeology Museum and whose construction was supported by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, houses graves dating back to the 3rd and 4th centuries BC and the 5th century AD.
In addition to the graves, more than 400 objects brought from the Antalya Museum are also on display at the Necropolis Museum. Those who walk through the excavation area on glass walkways and then see the artifacts exhibited in the museum take a journey through history.
Ahmet Eroğlu, one of the citizens who came to visit the museum, said, "The museum has just opened. I didn't tour it in great detail, but people need to come and see this place. They need to see that there were other civilizations besides their own in the geography they live in."