In Turkey, a home for ancient mosaics

The New York Times  (USA) Wednesday, July 20, 2011 – blogs

By Tanya Mohn

A museum of ancient mosaics recently opened in Gaziantep, Turkey.  On display at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum are mosaics depicting Greek and Roman mythology recovered from archaeological excavations at Zeugma, a nearby site on the Euphrates River that in the ancient world was an important crossroads of major trade routes. The antiquities reflect the taste of the town’s elite as well as popular culture in the second and third centuries A.D.

Major recovery work began after artifacts, suspected to have been vandalized, appeared in museums and private collections, and when a proposed dam threatened to flood the area.

The collection includes a portrait of a young girl with striking eyes, found in a large reception room of a Roman house. The overall mosaic was found severely damaged by the looters, but « Gypsy Girl » (probably a maenad, a female follower of Dionysus) was left largely intact, said Kutal Gorkay, associate professor at Ankara University and director of the Zeugma archaeological excavations.

The museum, which opened in late May, was sporadically closed for installation work. Its hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.