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An ancient street leading to the eastern gate of Side, one of the two main entrances to the ancient city in Antalya’s Manavgat district, has been brought to light as part of ongoing excavation and restoration work.
The newly uncovered route, along with several surrounding streets, adds fresh detail to the urban layout of Side, one of the most important harbor cities of ancient Pamphylia, a historical region on the southern coast of Anatolia.
Excavations in Side began in 1947 and have continued without interruption, gradually revealing a city known for its theater, the temples of Athena and Apollo, baths, monumental fountain, colonnaded street and museums.
In recent years, work at the site has been stepped up under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s "Heritage for the Future" project, an initiative focused on accelerating archaeological excavation and restoration across Türkiye.
As part of these efforts, archaeologists opened up the ancient street that leads to the eastern gate, one of the city’s two main gateways, while also uncovering nearby streets that had not previously been excavated.
Professor Feristah Alanyali, head of the Side excavation and a faculty member at Anadolu University’s Department of Archaeology, said uncovering the street was an important step for understanding the ancient city.
Alanyali said the team had identified the various phases of use of a street built during the early imperial period and gained important information about the city’s history and development.
“We opened the street leading to the eastern gate. We obtained important information about the history and historical phases of the city,” she said.
She also noted that a street extending to the south of the main route had never been excavated before, adding that the work gave researchers a chance to identify and interpret the historical processes of that area.
Alanyali said excavation work this year is planned for the sections of the city’s land and sea walls.
After the excavations along the sea walls are completed, the strengthened walls are expected to form a controlled boundary within the ancient city.
The findings also underline Side’s role as an important part of Mediterranean trade.
Alanyali said a Bronze Age ship anchor found in recent work near the Alara Stream showed that intensive maritime trade was taking place in the region as early as the second millennium B.C.
She said archaeological finds indicate that Side was a cosmopolitan city where people from the Aegean and Black Sea regions came to trade.
“Side is an important maritime city, but at the same time it is an agricultural city because of the alluvial soils brought by the Melas River,” Alanyali said.
She explained that sand carried by water gradually filled the harbor, forcing local residents to clean it repeatedly before eventually moving the harbor to another location.
“In our work, we identified other harbors of various sizes in the region,” she said.
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