Archaeologists excavating the remains of the ancient city of Aspendos, Antalya, Turkey, have discovered what is believed to be shops and warehouses that date back 2000 years.

Researchers working at the site believe that valuable materials were sold and stored in the recently discovered area, and that some of the sites might have been used as offices. The proximity of the shops to the city centre support these views. Among the artefacts discovered at the site are numerous coins dating back to the Hellenistic and Roman periods, a glass amphora, oil, pieces of perfume bottles, candles, bronze belt buckles, bone hair pins, plenty of nails, rings, and gems.

Some of the coins, dated to the 5th century BC, are believed to be still widely used during the Hellenistic period (323-31 BC). Aspendos was the most important city in the region of Pamphylia. At that time the Eurymedon River was navigable as far as Aspendos, and the city derived great wealth from a trade in salt, oil and wool. The ancient city was under Persian rule, surrendered to Alexander the Great, and later to the Romans. Aspendos is believed to have declined in the late Roman period and continued to throughout Byzantine times.

(after Daily Sabah)