Archaeologists Excavate Ancient Anatolian Health Center Founded by Rich Roman Subject-King

A clinic, a morgue, and burial chambers are being excavated in the ancient city of Philadelphia in central Turkey, where archaeologists have found surgical instruments and two moon symbols on statues thought to depict Men, an ancient god of the moon and healing.

The dig is being conducted in Karaman Province near Gokceseki village, and Hurriyet Daily News is calling Philadelphia an ancient health center of the Taseli region. The ruins of the city are 20 km (12 miles) north of Gokceseki.

Some of the artifacts found at the site. (Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey Üniversitesi)

The director of the Karaman Museum, Abdulbari Yildiz, told the Hurriyet Daily News that some of the settlement’s features, including a necropolis, survive on a hill. The Romans controlled Anatolia at the time of the site, and in 38 AD Emperor Caligula gifted parts of the mountainous regions of Cilicia and Laconia to Commagene King Antiochus IV and his wife Lotape Philadelphos.

Caligula, who ruled for just four years, re-established the Commagene kingdom as a vassal state to Rome in 37 AD. One year after its re-establishment, Antiochus IV, son of Antiochus III, became king. Antiochus IV had a reputation of being very rich.