One of the biggest ancient cities of the Mediterranean Ephesus, is now undergoing important restoration. The marble hall of the palace-like house in which the city’s Roman consul lived in A.D. 275 has begun to be restored, putting back together 350-square-meter walls that are now broken into 120,000 pieces.
The deputy supervisor of the ongoing excavations in Ephesus, Sabine Ladstatter, said this method was used in Italy once before, but with such a large-scale assembly will be the first in history. Excavations have been ongoing in this city for 138 years. Terrace Houses where the richest people lived are seen as the most exciting sites for excavation and restoration.
Considered to be the most important of the Terrace houses, the palatial house of Gaius Flavius Furius Aptus, the city consul, is drawing attention as a focus of excavation and restoration projects. Its magnificent 178-square-meter salon, whose walls were clothed with marble, is witnessing a major restoration. The plan is to begin with the restoration of the salon’s walls.
The walls had sunk deep into the soil over time due to numerous earthquakes. The pieces of the walls have been found through the extensive excavations, which have been going on for years. Presently the there are about 120,000 pieces that are going to be used for the restoration.
Ladstatter said they believe those pieces constitute 90 percent of the walls. She added that they are going to use laser screening to find the proper piece to put into the proper place in the wall. “What we are going to do here now is an effort to complete a puzzle composed of 120,000 pieces,” Ladstatter summarized. The restoration is expected to cost $300,000.
World’s biggest puzzle made in Terrace Houses at Ephesus,
A good guide may be able to make this covered work in progress come alive. Great for archaeology buffs, but average people will just pay more money to see some square walls and a few bits of mosaic.
So much has been uncovered that was original to Ephesus. We found this a particularly fascinating part of the city tour.
It is so cool to imagine what it must have been like.
Terrace Houses
These houses are an extra cost while walking through the ruins of Ephesus. The houses are so well preserved it is simply amazing. Murals, paintings and many other things are preserved in such a way the houses look very close to how they did over 2000 years ago.
The tile floors and wall paintings that are 2000 years old!
I was amazed at the precision and focus needed to put together these houses. So hard to beleive. i will warn you that there alot of stairs to climb to view the entire exhibit, however our personal guide from ephesustoursguide.com arranged with the manangement for us to only tour half so my Mom wouldnt have to climb so many.
Well worth the extra entrance fee. Lots of stairs, so be prepared. The intact wall paintings, floor mosaics and other decorations are fabulous to see. Also seeing the rooms, learning about their uses was a great peek at (wealthy) life in the time of Ephesus.
We booked private tours they took us through the main areas of Ephesus, but the tour also included the Terrace Houses, which are an additional charge and this is likely the main reason the cruise ship tours skip the Terrace Houses.
If you are in Ephesus, you must see the Terrace Houses. Typically, when you see ancient sites, they have removed the floors and frescoes. Here, they have put a high tech roof and stairs throughout the archeological site. it is really interesting to see everything in tact…and exactly where it was originally.