| Sobessos is located in
the southeast of Cappadocia near Sahinefendi village.
It was found by a group of people by chance. Following
searches and excavations showed us that this is an ancient
city build in 4th century A.D. The excavations in Sobessos
hold by Cultural Ministry, will light a dark part of
Cappadocian history. In a few years of time, the Sobessos
would be a part of the tours we conduct in Cappadocia.
THE MEETING HALL
It has an area of 400 m2 and consists of 3 rooms. There
is a grave in the first room, the second room has mosaics
and the third one, the main room, is supported by columns,
its walls are plastered and its ground is covered with
mosaics. It is estimated that this building could date
back to the middle of 4th century or the 5th century
AD.
THE ROOM WITH MOSAICS
Its ground is completely cleaned and is covered with
mosaics that are made out of colorful stones. The patterns
are geometrical with swastika, meander and cross shapes
with the forms of hair braid.
THE GRAVE IN THE MAIN ROOM
The grave in the north of the main room is placed in
the East-West position and has a raising cross on its
lid. Right underneath of the grave's lid, there is another
lid that prevents bad odor from spreading around. Both
of the lids were made of lime mud. When both lids were
opened, a skeleton of an adult male in a shroud whose
hands were on his belly was discovered. The tissue samples
of the skeleton were taken immediately. Because it was
very worn-out, it is under protection in its original
place. The skeleton belongs to the same period with
the chapel that was added afterwards.
THE CHAPEL
The chapel is located on the upper floor of the meeting
hall and is near the east room. It was coarsely built
with materials that were supplied from the main hall.
According to the coin that was found during the excavation,
the chapel dates back to the middle of 6th century.
THE FIELD OF PEHLIVAN FAMILY
It was said that in the clover field of Pehlivan Family,
to the north of the building with mosaics, another building
with columns and mosaics existed. In order to investigate
the rumor, it was decided to make an excavation with
a depth of 2.20 meters on this field. As a result of
this excavation, at the depth of 1.80 meters, a section
of a stone based construction was discovered. The further
excavation continued with a 4x4 meter width at 4 plan
square and a section of the bath complex of the ancient
city was brought to light at 2.30 meters deep. An apoditorium
(dressing room) with mosaics, a caldorium (steam room)
with the preserved sitting places, a large section of
the cistern, supported by a semi-circle wall, were discovered.
As the result of this excavation, it was realized that
the apoditorium was covered with barrel-vault but it
was burned at a fire. The bath was built with hypocaust
system (hot air heating system) and the caldorium consisted
of two sections.
At the depth of 2.50 meters, remains of a hexagon supported
with a round terracotta tondos was discovered on the
base.
This building, belonged to the late Roman period, was
renovated for functional reasons during early Christian
period. In the north of the caldorium, a large but well-preserved
jar which was used for storing provisions at that time
was discovered.
As the result, the ruins at Sahinefendi village dates
back to the Roman and early Christian period (second
half of the 4th century AD).
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