Aphrodisias Excavations

Aphrodisias in ancient Caria, SW Turkey

Aphrodisias in ancient Caria, SW Turkey

Aphrodisias - A Roman city in modern Turkey

Aphrodisias is a remarkably preserved Roman-period city in ancient Caria, SW Turkey, which was famous in antiquity for its sanctuary of Aphrodite and its marble sculptors. Known to tourists and travellers since the 18th century, it has been the subject of scientific exploration since the early 20th century. New York University has conducted extensive excavations since 1961 under the aegis of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism since 1995 with the collaboration of Oxford University.

The archaeological site of Aphrodisias was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List at the 41st World Heritage Committee session held in Kraków on 9 July 2017.

The Aphrodisias project is indebted for its fundamental permissions to the Republic of Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and its General Directorate of Cultural Property and Museums. It is also supported by a wide range of institutions, foundations, groups, and individuals.

The current New York University project began in 1961 under the direction of Kenan Erim who excavated the main monuments of the site over thirty years. Since the death of Professor Erim in 1990, the project has been based at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and directed by R.R.R. Smith, and since 1995 in collaboration with Oxford University. The project’s Deputy Director is Katherine Welch and its Assistant Director is Esen Öğüş. The work is carried out by a team of international collaborators.

Since 1993 excavation projects at the site have been supervised by several archaeologists: Christopher Ratté (Field Director 1993-95 and Co-Director 1996-2006), Bahadır Yıldırım (Field Director 2008-09), Esen Öğüş (Field Director 2010-11), Alexander Sokolicek (Field Director 2012-15), and Ben Russell and Ine Jacobs (Field Directors 2016- ).

Further details:

Director: Professor R.R.R. Smith

Website: http://aphrodisias.classics.ox.ac.uk