HISTORY OF HATAY ARCHAEOLOGY MUSEUM
Excavations in Hatay started in 1932. Between 1933 and 1938, excavations were carried out in Cüdeyde, Dehep, Çatalhöyük and Tainat in the Amik Plain by the University of Chicago, Chicago Oriental Institute. In 1936, excavation and excavation work was carried out on behalf of the British Museum at the site of Sir Leonard Wolley Samandağı, El-Mina, and at intervals from 1937 to 1948 at the Achana Mound. With the researches carried out by Princeton University in 1932-1939, the mosaics that constitute the main wealth of the museum were uncovered. These riches are the mosaics that were unearthed as a result of the excavations carried out in and around Harbiye, Narlıca, Güzelburç, Samandağ and the center of Antakya, which completed the collection. During the excavations carried out in Antakya in 1932-1939, architectural and other finds, most of which date back to the Roman period, revealed the richness and splendor of the city. The excavations carried out by the Committee for the Excavation and its Vicinity were carried out in Seleuceia Pieria in Samandağ, especially in Antakya and Harbiye, and the rich collection of mosaic works uncovered during the excavations is now distributed in about 20 museums and private collections of the world. Today, many works of antiochian origin are stored or exhibited in museums such as Princeton University Art Museum (USA), Worcester Museum (USA), Louvre (France) as well as Hatay Archaeological Museum. The Hatay Archaeological Museum, which was completed in 1939 after the work started to collect the artifacts in the excavations in one place, was completed on July 23, 1948 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the accession of Hatay to the Motherland. was opened to visitors in the year. The Sarcophagus Hall, one of the 8 exhibition halls of the museum, was completed in 2000 and put on display. In addition to the 8 exhibition halls in the museum, there are also works in the museum garden. The museum, which has 5 warehouses, has a seating area of 1,140 square meters. The works are exhibited on an area of 984 square meters. As of 2011, the total number of works is 35,433. In order to ensure that the existing museum building cannot meet the needs and that the rich collection is better exhibited; The construction of a new Archaeological Museum in Hatay continues. The planned completion date of the new museum building, the foundation of which was laid on May 26, 2011, is July 2013. The New Hatay Archaeological Museum, where the structure of Hatay, which witnesses various cultures from the early ages to the Middle Ages, is preserved, researched, interpreted, presented to everyone’s attention and appreciation, and which will cover all the requirements of the new museology approach, is aimed to be one of the few archaeological museums in the world that includes all the features of a cultural institution.
ABOUT THE MOSAIC COLLECTION
Hatay Archeology Museum mosaics are chronologically recorded in the 2nd century AD. century A.D. 6. century. In these mosaics, which are very rich in terms of theme diversity, mythological subjects, depictions of various beliefs and daily life elements, as well as geometric and floral decorations are processed. All of the mosaics are floor mosaics and the decorative purpose is in the foreground. The mosaics found in and around Antakya have a well-deserved reputation in the world both in terms of their dimensions and because of the diversity of subjects and construction techniques. In this section of the Virtual Museum, you can find summary information by clicking on the mosaic you want to learn about. You can press the “View in inventory” button in the window that opens to view the entire mosaic and access more detailed information.
