  Hadrianopolis in Paphlagonia Shown within Turkey | |
| Location | Karabük Province,Turkey |
|---|---|
| Region | Paphlagonia |
| Coordinates | 40°55′33″N32°29′29″E / 40.9258°N 32.4913°E /40.9258; 32.4913 |
| Type | Settlement |
Hadrianopolis in Paphlagonia (Ancient Greek:Ἁδριανούπολις ἐν Παφλαγονίᾳ) was a city in southwesternPaphlagonia,Asia Minor (modernTurkey), about 3km west of modernEskipazar.
It was inhabited at least from the 1st century BC to the 8th century AD. It was named after theRoman emperorHadrian in the 2nd century AD. The city also bore the names ofCaesarea orKaisareia (Καισάρεια) andProseilemmene.[1]
Hadrianapolis had settlements in the lateHellenistic,Roman and earlyByzantine periods.[2]
When EmperorTheodosius I (347–395) made parts of Paphlagonia andBithynia into a new province calledHonorias, Hadrianopolis became known asHadrianopolis in Honoriade, the name by which the ancientepiscopal see is known in the list of what are nowtitular sees included in theAnnuario Pontificio.[3]
It is known as the birthplace of SaintsAlypios the Stylite andStylianos of Paphlagonia.
Excavations started in 2003. Archaeological surface surveys have uncovered 14 public buildings and other structures in the ancient city. Among these public buildings are two baths, two churches, a defense structure, rock tombs, a theater, an arched and domed structure, a monumental cultic niche, walls, a villa, other monumental buildings and some religious buildings. The church floors are decorated with mosaics and have images of the rivers ofGihon,Pishon,Tigris andEuphrates imprinted on them, which are mentioned in theBible. Various animals are also depicted in the mosaics of the ancient city, which has been likened to the ancient city ofZeugma.[4]
One of the earliest known churches in Anatolia was excavated in Hadrianopolis.[5] In December 2019, archaeologists unearthed an 1800-year-oldlimestone slab containing a female silhouette most likely depictsDemeter. According to the archaeologist Ersin Çelikbaş, there was an inscription on the surface of the slab- "Herakleides, the son of Glaukos".[6][7] "The slab has a figure of a woman on it wearing a traditional dress, holding ears of wheat in her right hand and wearing a belt with a snake on her waist. Most probably, this is the goddess of the harvest and agriculture Demeter" said Ersin Çelikbaş.[8]
In 2022 new mosaics with polychrome peacock and amphora figures with grape basket decorations were found in a Roman fort.[9] Geophysical and other surveys have revealed 14 public buildings and other structures in the ancient city so far.
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