Sunday 5 October 2014

Presentation to the Bodrum Chamber of Commerce 26 Sep 14


Bodrum Kent TV have reported on a presentation to BODTO, the Bodrum Chamber of Commerce, by Prof Mustafa Şahin, the lead archaeologist, working on the Myndos excavations at Gümüşlük.

During the presentation, which detailed the work to date, the Professor stated that results from a series of geophysical surveys identified features below the present ground surface which indicted that footings, wall lines and roadways of the ancient city still remain, relatively undisturbed, across a large area of the site, furthermore recent research suggested that the site may be much older than originally thought.

Prof Şahin went to say that once the excavations were completed the site could offer a huge boost to the local tourist trade, increasing the season from 3 to 10 months; however it would take many years to complete the excavations under the present regime where the work was limited to a short period each year during the University summer recess.

When asked by a local councillor how much it would cost to employ a team to work on the site for 12 months a year Prof Şahin estimated a cost of 400 – 500 thousand Turkish Lira (approx 174,000 to 217,000 US $) per annum.

Whilst this may seem a large sum, Prof Şahin described how the archaeology team excavating the site of Laodicea (on the Lycus) near the village Eskihisar in the province of Denizli receive an annual budget of 1.5 million TL.

It’s not clear from the article if the professor was attempting to secure funding from individual members of the chamber of commerce or if he was soliciting the chamber’s support to lobby the Bodrum / Muğla Municipalities for additional funding.