Preserving and Presenting the History of the Antioch Region

Stephen Batiuk, Senior Research Associate and Lecturer, Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations, Archaeology Centre, University of Toronto

The region around Ancient Antioch (modern Antakya in the Hatay province of Turkey), has been the focus of intensive archaeological research for almost a century, which has revealed occupation in the region going all the way back to the paleolithic period. Excavations by foreign and Turkish scholars have unearthed architectural remains of palaces, temples, fortresses and homes filled with collections of works of art, historical records and mundane objects from every major time period of occupation in the region.

The Hatay Archaeological Museum was founded in 1934 to house these collections, in particular the Roman Mosaics dated to the 2nd century BCE. Recently the museum was reconstructed at a much larger scale to house the numerous finds from the archaeological investigations of the past eighty years, becoming the third largest archaeological Museum in all of Turkey. At the same time, open-air archaeological parks have begun to be constructed at three important archaeological sites in the region to bring the past to life to visitors of Hatay. This presentation will provide a brief history of Antioch/modern Antakya, and introduce the public to the new archaeological museum and its collections as well as the Archaeological Park Programs.