The administrative province of Muğla in SW Türkiye covers a large part of what was once ancient Caria and, although still largely under-researched, it is home to a large number of excavations (although few surveys). The 32 papers presented at this conference covered a wide range of sites with a very strong emphasis on classical period excavations, including lasos, Euromos, and Herakelia/Latmos. As the opening speeches made clear, the reason for this is not just academic but also to help Muğla achieve its potential as a tourist destination. As part of this effort, it was good to see major conservation and restoration projects happening at sites such as Knidos, Kaunos and Stratonikeia, adding a heritage offering to tourists already drawn to the region’s popular beaches and mountains.
Regional meetings such as this are starting to play an important part in the Turkish state’s strict management of archaeological permits. As many readers will know, the annual Archaeology Symposium (Kazi Souçlar Toplantası – see link below) is an annual national forum where permit holders present the results of their work (including restoration and outreach) to representatives from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The resulting interim reports are an essential archive of archaeological work in Türkiye and a vital research resource, especially for sites where no final reports were forthcoming. The advantage of a regional symposium like this is the opportunity to engage national Ministry representatives and regional government officials (and their budgets!) in the archaeological and restoration work that is being done by local universities and museums. It was also really good to hear a presentation by Bodrum Underwater Museum about rescue excavations undertaken as part of the State Water Works (DSİ) flood management programme because university-led research excavations and state-led rescue excavations rarely communicate with one another.
To mark the 100th anniversary year of the Turkish Republic, Prof. Fahri Işık opened the conference with a wide-ranging keynote speech that attempted to draw together strands of Turkish archaeology from Göbeklitepe, Çatal Höyük and Troy into an over-arching narrative of continuing Anatolian identity throughout time. His call to honour the memory of the Republic’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk by seeking out these subtle elements of Anatolian identity, which are so often lost in the noise of dominant Greek historical narratives, was well-received by the audience. The unrecognised Anatolian elements within Classical culture in Türkiye are something that this research group is actively researching and we welcome this renewed emphasis in Turkish scholarship.
You can access the Kazi Sonuçlar Toplantası archives here: https://kvmgm.ktb.gov.tr/TR-44760/kazi-sonuclari-toplantilari.html