Due to excavation and repair work, water began to flow from a castle fountain at Becin Ancient City in southwestern Turkey after about 700 years. Becin Ancient City is located in Mugla’s Milas district and was the capital of the Menteseogullari Principality. It is on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. The excavation team’s chief, Professor Kadir Pektas, told Anadolu Agency that the city dates back to 2000 B.C., although it rose to prominence during the Menteseogullari sultanate in the 13th and 14th centuries. He stated that the team did restoration work as well as excavations in the city.
During the Menteseogullari period, when the region was ruled, it was repaired and used. The Menteseogullari was described by UNESCO as one of the “most important” sultanates in terms of the cultural components they left in western Anatolia, which may be accepted as the first examples of Ottoman characteristics. “The architectural remains of Becin city not only illuminate the Western Anatolian architecture of that period but also the form of the region’s first Turkish towns,” UNESCO said in its descriptive statement.
The archaeological site in Becin has been systemically excavated since 1972, and a trove of coins, 60,000 of which are from the Ottoman period, was discovered in 2000, according to the report. “Not only is it the largest treasure ever discovered in Turkey in archaeological investigations, but it is also the largest cache of Ottoman coins ever discovered,” UNESCO stated.
For years, the ancient Romans ruled Turkey and built large colosseums around the country, similar to the famed ones in Rome. During excavations at Mastaura, an ancient city in Aydin Province, the arena was discovered in 2021. The arena had been partially buried and concealed by vegetation.