The Hatay Archaeology Museum ( tr, Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi) is the

archaeology museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological Types Many archaeology museum are in the open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum. Others display artifacts inside buildings, such as ...

Antakya Antakya (), historically known as Antioch ( el, Ἀντιόχεια; hy, Անտիոք, Andiok), is the capital of Hatay Province, the southernmost province of Turkey. The city is located in a well-watered and fertile valley on the Orontes River, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. It is known for its extensive collection of Roman and Byzantine Era mosaics. The museum is located in

, the main city of Hatay. Construction of the museum started in 1934 on the recommendation of the French archaeologist and antiquities inspector Claude M. Prost. It was completed in 1938 and came under Turkish control in 1939 following Hatay's unification with Turkey. The museum was opened to the public in 1948 and re-opened in 1975 following renovation and expansion. With 3,500 sqm of mosaics displayed in 10,700 sqm of exhibition space and 32,754 sqm of total indoor space, the museum is claimed to be the largest mosaic museum in the world.

Collection

Hatay has a rich collection of

mosaics A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

dating back to the Hellenistic and to the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. They have been found in the ancient cities of Daphne,

Seleucia Pieria Seleucia in Pieria ( Greek Σελεύκεια ἐν Πιερίᾳ), also known in English as Seleucia by the Sea, and later named Suedia, was a Hellenistic town, the seaport of Antioch ad Orontes ( Syria Prima), the Seleucid capital, modern Ant ...

(Samandağ),

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

and Tarsus. The most famous figures among those depicted by the mosaics are the drunken Dionysos,

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with J ...

, Dancers, Ariadne Abandoned from Defne (Yakto). Column capitals, a sacrificial altar, a cult image, a bas-relief, a fresco and statues date from the

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-cent ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

periods. They were found by excavations in barrows in the plain of Amik. The works in the museum are arranged according to where they were found. Excavations have been carried out at barrows, tells and ruins such as Guneyde, Dehep,

Çatalhöyük Çatalhöyük (; also ''Çatal Höyük'' and ''Çatal Hüyük''; from Turkish ''çatal'' "fork" + ''höyük'' "tumulus") is a tell of a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic proto-city settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from app ...

, Tainat,

Al Mina :'' Al Mina, Tyre is a spectacular and more familiar Roman site near Tyre.'' Al-Mina (Arabic: "the port") is the modern name given by Leonard Woolley to an ancient trading post on the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria, in the estuary of the ...

, Ac-ana, Defne-Harbiye and so on. The collection also includes objects from Antakya and its surrounding regions. The museum's collection also includes items that reflect the art and culture of the region, from the

Paleolithic Age The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος '' lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

through the present day. The objects are displayed in wall niches. Against the other walls of the room are cases that display a rare coin collection arranged chronologically. The museum's garden includes Roman period

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

, building stones and water jars. In 1999 German archeologist Jutta Meischner received permission to study and publicize Greek and Roman sculptures from the Hatay Archeology Museum. In early 2012, a section of the museum's collection was digitized as part of an effort to increase museum attendance.

Restoration

Restoration taking place in 2014-2015 has been suspended after several major works were botched and local media brought it to the attention of the public.

References

External links

Hatay Archeology Museum
website, Ancient useless link

at Ministry of Culture website, outdated
Not the museum site itself, but decent information in 2020Over 670 pictures of exhibits

Gallery

File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Actor mosaic 6131b.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Actor mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Boat of the Psyches mosaic 7544.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Boat of the Psyches mosaic File:Antakya Dionysus and Ariadne mosaic 5920.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Dionysos and Ariadne mosaic File:Antakya Dionysus and Ariadne mosaic 7507.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Dionysos and Ariadne mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Dionysos and Ariadne mosaic 4077b.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Dionysos and Ariadne mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Dionysus mosaic 5936b.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Dionysus mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Ephygenia in Aulis mosaic 6058.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Ephygenia in Aulis mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Ephygenia in Aulis mosaic 6062.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Ephygenia in Aulis mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Eros and Psyche mosaic 6044.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Eros and Psyche mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Ganymede mosaic 6558.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Ganymede mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Ge and Karpoi mosaic 6566.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Ge and Karpoi mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Herakles mosaic 6087.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Herakles mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Orpheus mosaic 6551.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Orpheus mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Sundial mosaic 5970.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Sundial mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Thetis and Oceanus mosaic 5949.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Thetis and Oceanus mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Thiasos mosaic 6576.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Thiasos mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Buffet mosaic 6103.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Buffet mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Buffet mosaic 6530.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Buffet mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Buffet mosaic 7641.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Buffet mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Detail of some mosaic 7477 edit.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Detail of some mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Detail of some mosaic 7480.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Detail of some mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Four seasons mosaic 6590.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Four seasons mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Four seasons mosaic 6544.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Four seasons mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Four seasons mosaic 6538.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Four seasons mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Four seasons mosaic 2638.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Four seasons mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Yakto mosaic 6588.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Yakto mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Yakto mosaic 7539 edit.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Yakto mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Yakto mosaic 7517.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Yakto mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Yakto mosaic 2579.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Yakto mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Yakto mosaic 2536.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Yakto mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Geometric mosaic 7437.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Geometric mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Geometric mosaic 7406.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Geometric mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Geometric mosaic 6113.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Geometric mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Geometric mosaic 6112.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Geometric mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Geometric mosaic 6064.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Geometric mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Geometric mosaic 6055.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Geometric mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum Geometric mosaic 2496.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Geometric mosaic File:Antakya Archaeological Museum 5990.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Stove File:Antakya Archaeological Museum 7574.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Cooking support File:Antakya Archaeological Museum 7607.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Assyrian style lions File:Antakya Archaeological Museum 5989.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Kings head File:Antakya Archaeological Museum 5996.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Hittite temple entrance File:Antakya Archaeological Museum 6496.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Late Hittite stele File:Antakya Archaeological Museum 6111.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Emperor Trebonianus Gallus File:Antakya Archaeological Museum 5983.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Sleeping traveller File:Antakya Archaeological Museum 5972.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Stele File:Antakya Archaeological Museum 4113.jpg, Antakya Archaeological Museum Byzantine coin {{Authority control Antakya Museums established in 1934 Archaeological museums in Turkey Museums in Hatay Province 1934 establishments in Turkey Mosaics in Turkey

Collection

Restoration

See also

References

External links

Gallery