The East Garage Necropolis Area, which was once a public market in the southern province of Antalya and where archaeological excavations started after the discovery of rock tombs, has been transferred to the Culture and Tourism Ministry.
With the project, which had a cost of approximately 292 million Turkish liras, the necropolis area has been opened as a museum.
During the excavation works of a business center and underground car park in 2008, some graves were unearthed in the area, located in the Çaybaşı District of Muratpaşa district, which served as the “Festival Bazaar and Inner City Public Transportation Center.”
Then rescue excavations were carried out in the area between 2008 and 2011 under the presidency of the Antalya Museum Directorate, unearthing 865 tombs in the Attaleia Necropolis area, dating back to the Hellenistic to the Young Roman periods.
Finds in the tombs revealed that the Attaleia Necropolis was used for 700 years from the beginning of the third century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. The artifacts were put on display in the Antalya Museum.
The Necropolis Museum in the East Garage, whose construction was completed by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, was transferred to the Antalya Museum at a ceremony held on July 20.
