Throughout ongoing excavations within the historical metropolis of Prusias advert Hypium in Turkey, archaeologists have uncovered a lovely mosaic that includes a duo of lions. The excavation crew, working above the traditional metropolis’s theater, found the lion mosaic inside a construction linked to the portico. The mosaic-clad room probably served as a late Roman cult website, symbolizing the broader life-style of the society or group inhabiting the world, probably worshipping Dionysus.

Dionysian Cult: A Finely Crafted Mosaic Lion

De6.5 meters (15 x 21 ft)d that the newly discovered house, with approximate wall dimensions of 4.5 × 6.5 meters (15 x 21 ft), featured inside partitions adorned with marble plates utilized over a considerable layer of mortar. The room exhibited an oblong plan oriented within the north-south path, stories Arkeonews.

The mosaic ground consists of finely processed tesserae in white, blue, yellow, inexperienced, and brown hues, organized in intricate geometric patterns. The periphery of the mosaic is elegantly framed with bigger and extra vibrant tesserae, a testomony to advantageous craftsmanship.

• World’s Oldest Mosaic Unearthed in Turkey
• Roman Mosaic Depicting The Iliad Found in “Oh Wow Second”

Shut up of the Lions mosaic found in Prusias Advert Hypium. (Konuralp Museum)

The mosaic depicts a scene that includes two lions positioned on both facet of a pine tree, adorned with a drum (tympanum) and a pan flute hanging from its branches. Students assert that this imagery is intricately linked to the Dionysian cult. Historic proof factors to the probability of the room being utilized in Dionysian processions, the place figures like Silenus and Maenads, actively engaged in these rituals, typically performed musical devices such because the tympanum and pan flute.

Düzce Mayor Faruk Özlü emphasised the distinctiveness of the invention, stating:

“We uncovered a singular mosaic in Turkey. This mosaic holds important significance throughout the undiscovered parts of the Historical Theatre right here. Archaeologists affirm its standing as a particular artifact.”

• Moms, Insanity and Music: A Research of the Parallels of Cybele and Dionysus
• Historical Greek Theater and the Monumental Amphitheaters in Honor of Dionysus

Dionysus, the traditional Greek god of wine, ecstasy, and revelry, performed a central function within the Dionysian cults. Revered because the deity of fertility, theater, and liberation, Dionysus was typically related to the transformative energy of wine and the uninhibited pursuit of enjoyment.

Dionysian cults, prevalent in historical Greece and Rome, celebrated the ecstatic and mystical points of the god’s worship, involving frenzied rituals, music, dance, and theatrical performances. Members, together with followers generally known as maenads, engaged in ecstatic experiences to realize a heightened state of consciousness, blurring the boundaries between the divine and mortal realms.

Prusias Advert Hypium: An Historical Hellenistic Polis

Prusias advert Hypium is located within the Konuralp district of Düzce and sometimes called the Ephesus of the western Black Sea. Based within the third century BC beneath the identify Hypios, the traditional metropolis of Prusias advert Hypium underwent substantial transformations following the Roman conquest in 74 BC, stories Archaeology Mag.

This conquest not solely led to a change within the metropolis’s identify but in addition led to profound cultural influences that formed its id. The archaeological remnants of this historic evolution are seen via notable landmarks, such because the remarkably preserved historical theater, colloquially known as the Forty Steps.

The traditional theater of Prusias advert Hypium at Konuralp, together with the lions mosaic website. (Faruk Özlu/Düzce Municipality)

Within the 2nd century BC, the Bithynians, beneath the management of their king, Prusias I, achieved the seize of Kieros from the Mariandyns and Herekleia State. Following this conquest, Prusias I undertook important enhancements to town, embellishing it with quite a few monuments and fortifications. As a part of his efforts, he not solely fortified town but in addition bestowed upon it his personal identify, leading to its transformation into Prusias.

Rediscovered within the nineteenth century, the traditional metropolis has been the main target of latest excavations led by the archaeology division of Düzce College, carried out beneath the auspices of the Konuralp Museum and with assist from the Municipality of Düzce.

The continuing excavations reveal distinct traits of a Hellenistic polis, stories Heritage Daily. Surviving remnants that allude to this embrace parts of town partitions, a fortified gate, an open-air theatre, an aqueduct, and a Roman bridge. What’s extra, final September, a well-preserved portrait of Alexander the Nice was discovered.

High picture: A mosaic that includes two lions lately discovered on the historical metropolis of Prusias advert Hypium. Supply: Faruk Özlu/Düzce Municipality

By Sahir Pandey