Ancient mine was discovered in western Turkey

In 2021, a Roman stone mine was discovered near ancient Smyrna (today’s Izmir, in western Turkey). The preserved traces prove that the mine worked intensively to meet the demand for building materials necessary for the construction of monumental buildings in Smyrna.

The large stone blocks were to be transported first from the quarry by local streams and then by sea to the port of Smyrna.

Smyrna as early as the 2nd century BCE had over 100,000 inhabitants. The growing metropolis additionally had to contend with numerous earthquakes that forced the authorities to rebuild the buildings.