Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Syedra in Antalya’s Alanya district uncovered the outline of a stadium measuring about 200 m long and 16 m wide. “Working in a very large area with a lot of slope is quite difficult. There are small details left. When we complete them, we will uncover a large part of the stadium,” said Associate Professor Ertuğ Ergürer, head of the Syedra project, according to T24.
Carved directly into bedrock 340 m above sea level, the arena dated to roughly 1,800 years ago added a rare athletic complex to a settlement that first emerged in the 9th century BCE and remained inhabited until at least the 13th century CE. Excavators exposed stone seating, stairways and finely cut blocks described by T24 as the highest-quality workmanship yet found on the site. The northern section stayed intact, while later fortification walls damaged much of the southern end. Ergürer estimated an original capacity of 2,000–3,000 spectators; surviving tiers are stone, and architectural clues suggest that upper rows were wooden.
“Having a stadium in Syedra is very important in terms of showing that the city reached a level of development and prosperity for that period,” said Ergürer, linking construction to a prosperous Roman phase. The structure lay in the southern zone of Syedra, where scattered blocks long hinted at a large building; intensive clearing at the start of the season finally revealed its plan, and work continues to document how stone and timber elements were combined.
Roughly forty inscriptions found around the city refer to wrestling, boxing and other contests, indicating the stadium’s use for sports, religious festivals and imperial celebrations. One inscription records a letter of thanks from Roman Emperor Septimius Severus and now stands in Alanya Museum.
The bedrock design spared ancient builders the need for massive retaining walls but left modern archaeologists contending with steep terrain. Once the remaining tiers are cleared, researchers plan to compare construction techniques with those of other Pamphylian and Cilician cities. “We are continuing the work in the ancient city, which dates back approximately 3,000 years,” said Ergürer.
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