The passage under of Mastaura the Roman Empire

The passage under of Mastaura the Roman Empire

The ancient city of Mastaura is located on the border of the village of Bozyurt in the Nazilli district north of the Menderes River and about 18 km east of the ancient city of Nysa. The city is a small ancient settlement located 1 km north of the village of Bozyurt surrounded by high hills to the east and west and on the north side of a narrow valley through which the Mastaura (Krizoroas) stream flows. This stream means "stream with the golden sword" in Greek. Mastaura means "great stream of the mother goddess" in Luvian. The open form of this stream is M(a)asta-ura. Here Ma: means "mother" in Luvian/Pelasgian and is a form of the word AMA without the initial letter A. This word describes the mother goddess and is found in many historical names in Anatolia. In 2021 the remains of a Roman open-air theater dating back to 700 BCE and able to accommodate 20,000 people were discovered still standing quite high making it only the third open-air theater found in Turkey.

In ancient times stretching through Tralleis and Nysa and extending from Hierapolis and Laodikeia to Anatolia to the east the city was an important city along the Caput Via that extended into the interior. It also had a strategic position at the crossroads of the region's geography. Opposite the city, on the other side of the plain was the Harpass Stream (Arpas/Kemer Stream). The valley along this Stream served as an important route connecting the interior of Caria with the plain of Myandros. Similarly next to Mastaura, about 6 km to the east and extending north through the Mesoghis Mountains (Aydin Mountains) you will find the Kestel Valley.

This valley served as a natural route from the interior of Lydia to the plain of Myandros. Thus the location of the city at the intersection of the roads coming from Caria to the south and Lydia to the north as well as its position on the main east-west axis along the Myandros River (Buyuk Menderes River) emphasizes the great importance of Mastaura within the region. The city is located in a narrow valley. Stretching between the districts of Bozyurt and Eycelli to the north the city lies on a natural route that runs along the Büyük Menderes valley and connects the Aegean coast with the interior of Anatolia. It originates from the coastal towns of Miletos and Ephesos to the west.

Drainage system found in ancient city of Mastaura The ancient city covers an area of ​​about 160,000 square meters. In ancient times, a river flowed through Mastaura, and people settled on both sides of the waterway. Sedat Akurnaz from the Department of Archaeology of Adnan Menderes University who is responsible for excavations at the site said the engineering and materials used in the structure indicate that construction began around 200 BC and the aqueduct system was in use throughout the ancient Roman Empire. Akurnaz explained. “The structures are very large and people could easily walk through them which are scattered throughout the ancient city. They appear to be early examples of municipal construction” said Umut Tunzer Director of Culture.

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