Recent environmental crises underscore the critical importance of understanding the historical dynamics of the interrelationship between humans and nature. In this context, the approach of Environmental History has placed the interactions between human societies and nature at the core of its inquiry. Socio-Ecological Modeling, encompassing Environmental History within an interdisciplinary framework, aims to analyze the long-term historical dimensions of these interactions. Ancient Greco-Roman authors, although not always intending to do so, provide valuable information about the physical setting and environmental conditions of the Mediterranean world. The writings of the renowned orator Aelius Aristides on Smyrna contain the most comprehensive data regarding the city’s environmental characteristics in the 2nd century AD; through aspects such as topography, water sources, winds, earthquakes, and epidemics, they offer insights into the interactions between nature and humans. This study aims to explore how various environmental features and phenomena influenced the spatial organization, collective memory, and urban life of ancient Mediterranean cities over the long term, with a particular focus on Aelius Aristides’ accounts of ancient Smyrna.

The paper examines an unexpected fibula find from the Bahçelievler (in Bilecik) site, notable for its Neolithic artifacts. A bronze fibula bearing a button attachment was discovered during salvage excavations at this small yet highly significant site in inland Northwestern Anatolia. The fibula, discovered beside a collection of pottery, an unidentified wall, and burnt soil, is among the few Rhodian fibulae recorded in literature. The fibula, deposited as part of a burial custom, is the earliest known instance in the area and signifies the northernmost location of this fibula type. The discovery of a Rhodian fibula in an area significantly inland from the shore indicates mobility between the two regions. Despite the Phrygian type being the predominant fibula group in the region, the presence of this particular type of fibula, significant for its representation of national identity, has been attributed to a woman buried in Bahçelievler who may have arrived through intermarriage.

This article presents the text of a neglected inscription from Skepsis in the Troad. Walther Judeich published a drawing of the text in 1898, but did not provide a text. Louis Robert recognised it to be an honorific decree for a phrourarch, but otherwise it has attracted very little interest. It is here proposed that a Seleucid regnal dating formula can be restored in lines 2-3 and a reference to ‘barbarians’, which here must refer to Galatians, can be restored in line 6. The inscription therefore provides evidence of the Galatian War directly affecting Skepsis and belongs to the small dossier of evidence for the impact of the Galatians on north-western Asia Minor c. 277-275. The Antiocheia festival at Skepsis, known from a decree dated c. 200 and thus traditionally thought to have been founded for Antiochus III, may in fact have been established in the aftermath of the Galatian War in honour of Antiochus I.

The article offers comments on inscriptions at two temples in Asia Minor: It argues that the letter of Seleukos II at the temple of Zeus in Labraunda was carved on the anta of the temple still in the time of the priest Korris and thus before all other inscriptions pertaining to the Olympichos dossier and that it was not, as previously assumed, displayed on one of the antae of the opisthodomos. The other documents of the Olympichos dossier could be understood as Mylasa’s counternarrative to Seleukos’ letter, which, under certain premises, seems to have favored Korris’ position in the dispute between Mylasa and Labraunda. In the case of the temple of Athena in Heraclea at Latmus, the presumed lacuna in the Seleucid correspondence is discussed. The architectural context of the surviving ashlars of the northern anta suggests a greater loss of text in Zeuxis’ letter than had previously been supposed.

This paper reassesses the role of Phaselis in the First Mithradatic War through a newly discovered inscription honouring King Mithradates VI Eupator. Found in what is called today the “South Harbour Trade Centre” and dated to 89-85 BC, the text offers the first epigraphic evidence of Mithradatic presence in the city, confirming its integration into Pontic–pirate alliances active along the eastern Lycian and western Pamphylian coasts. Drawing on literary and epigraphic sources, the study situates Phaselis within the contested maritime frontier where local powers, pirates, and Pontic forces resisted Roman authority. Although the city’s strategic harbours facilitated this co-operation for a while, it was besieged and punished by the Roman counterattack under Servilius Vatia (78-74 BC) and lost its territory for a while.

This article aims to present a stele with an inscription purchased in France by its current owner, an antique dealer from Alicante, Spain. The combination of the stele's structural characteristics with its iconography and text allows it to be attributed without a doubt to the ancient Syrian city of Zeugma, now Belkıs in Turkey. The piece is published here with epigraphic and iconographic analysis. Special mention is made of the anthroponym and the funerary formula, which allows for two possible interpretations, and particular attention is paid to the iconography of the funerary eagle, a recurring motif on male funerary steles from this city in Roman times. The existing theories on the possible interpretation of the motif – cultic, related to the past life of the deceased or related to the afterlife – are discussed, considering the epigraphic formula and iconographic parallels from Asia Minor. Taking into account the historical and geographical context of Zeugma, it is concluded that the motif possibly represents the deceased in the afterlife, although the inhabitants of Zeugma would also see in it a symbol of the principal male god, as protector, and a symbol of identity for the city that was home to two Roman legions.

The sarcophagus found in the ancient city of Perge is exhibited in the Antalya Museum. The front and side faces of the sarcophagus are made in the form of Asia Minor columned sarcophagi. The back side is carved in Torre Nova type. In the main theme, the owner of the sarcophagus is depicted as the Philosopher, while the other figures are depicted as his students and listeners. On the reverse side, three scenes from the Trojan War are depicted. The city of Perge and the region of Pamphylia were prominent with sarcophagus production especially in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. This production was not confined to the region, but soon became known throughout the Roman world. With the increase in demand, production increased in the region and contributed to the growth of the regional economy. Today, research on material supply, production centres and artistic features are still ongoing. The sarcophagus is only one of these examples. In the article, the sarcophagus is introduced as well as the problems specific to it.

This article presents a new agonistic inscription belonging to Dioteimos, son of Artemon, from Termessos. Ferit Baz discovered the inscription on the colonnaded street during the epigraphic survey conducted in Termessos in 2017. It mentions the names of Dioteimos, son of Artemon, who won the wrestling competition in the boys’ category, and the proboulos Hermaios. According to Heberdey’s stemma, the inscription is dated to ca. AD 180, as proboulos Hermaios is listed as belonging to the seventh generation. The most famous place in the city to erect monuments was the colonnaded street (as a locus celeberrimus) where the wrestlers also seem to have had favorable locations for their monuments. The most interesting situation of the pedestal is that the inscribed surface is not oriented towards the street. The inscribed surface faces the other architectural elements on the side. It is most likely that the pedestal of the statue was turned on its side in antiquity for unknown reasons. In this rotated state, the inscription is difficult to see and read. This situation is unusual since most inscriptions in and around the colonnaded street in Termessos are in situ. The pedestal of the statue is probably in its original position. However, this sideways rotation must have significantly diminished the representational value of the honorific monument. On the other hand, the Termessians must have been aware of the importance of the visual presence of their statues and their pedestals. The fact that the pedestal has been rotated in this way suggests that there may have been some changes in the erection and positioning of the pedestals on the colonnaded street at Termessos. This situation should always be taken into consideration.

This article presents two newly discovered inscriptions. During stream improvement works conducted by the State Hydraulic Works (= DSİ, in Turkish) in 2024, two stelae were discovered in the village of Aşağıçaylı (formerly Nasuhlar), located in the Yenipazar district of Bilecik province (see Map). One of these stelae is approximately 3.30 m high, monumental in scale, and was erected in the 17th year of the Emperor Septimius Severus’ reign. The stele bears an honorary inscription that offers new insights into the political life of the city of Nikaia. Notably, it reveals the existence of a previously unknown settlement: ὁ δῆμος Σαγελλειτων. In the inscription, the demos of the Sagelleitoi honours their benefactor, Menestheus, and his wife, Gauriane, while referencing Menestheus’ role as chief archon in Nikaia. Additionally, the stele names the archon Tatas as an eponym for dating purposes. Alongside Tatas, the chosen (archons?) for the subsequent year are listed, a unique feature, as no other inscriptions from Nikaia or its territory have previously documented such references to “appointed” officials. The second stele is fragmentary, and its exact purpose remains unclear. However, it again mentions the demos of the Sagelleitoi, suggesting it may have been erected either as a votive offering or an honorary one.

Ich versuche, einen Eindruck von der dunklen Seite des Archäologen James Mellaart zu vermitteln, indem ich seine Erfindungen von 1954 bis 1999 und eine Wiederaufnahme nach seinem Tod verfolge. Sie scheinen von dem Wunsch motiviert zu sein, seine Theorien zu untermauern, entfernten sich aber weit vom Bereich der Wahrhaftigkeit und führten zum Verlust jeglicher Vertrauenswürdigkeit. Er mag ein Opfer seiner Obsessionen gewesen sein, aber seine zahlreichen Betrügereien und Lügen sind unentschuldbar. Man sollte ihn nicht als guten Archäologen in Erinnerung behalten.