Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Pompeiopolis in Türkiye have uncovered a large Roman mosaic and a sculpted head of Eros during investigations of a monumental basilica.
The discoveries were made at Pompeiopolis, located in the Taşköprü district of Kastamonu Province, an important urban centre that served as the capital of Paphlagonia during the Roman period.
Excavations during the 2026 season focused on the city's basilica and Roman villa, where archaeologists have been investigating the development of the settlement's monumental architecture.
Within the basilica, researchers uncovered an extensive floor mosaic covering approximately 120 to 130 square metres.
Dating to around the 4th century AD, the mosaic consists of geometric compositions and survives in a relatively well-preserved condition.
Conservation work is now being carried out to stabilise damaged sections and secure individual tesserae.
Archaeologists first identified the foundation walls of the basilica during excavations in 2025, before exposing its complete known plan during the 2026 season.
According to Ahmet Yasin Ekinci, deputy director of the excavation, the building displays a three-nave basilica plan and contains evidence for two principal phases of construction or use.
These have been dated to approximately the middle of the 2nd century AD and the 5th century AD, indicating that the complex underwent significant changes during several centuries of Roman and Late Roman occupation.
The mosaic was identified across the central and eastern naves of the structure.
Excavations in the eastern pastophorion, a room associated with the basilica complex, also uncovered the sculpted head of Eros.
The head has been dated to the second half of the 2nd century AD, making it considerably earlier than the surviving 4th-century mosaic.
Eros was the Greek god of love and desire and was widely represented in Greek and Roman sculpture, frequently appearing as a youthful or winged figure.
The discovery adds to a growing collection of sculptural material recovered during excavations at Pompeiopolis, including statues and statue fragments that have subsequently been transferred to a museum for preservation.
Among the previously mentioned material is a head of sculpture representing Aphrodite.
Researchers are also looking for evidence of how the basilica area was used over time. Archaeological studies have shown parts of the complex may have served different civic and religious functions at different periods in the city’s history.
The mosaic is being conserved as excavation continues beyond the area exposed now and additional sections of the decorated floor may remain buried.
Archaeologists are also carrying out investigations at the Roman villa, theatre and other monumental structures in Pompeiopolis.
In 2027 the excavation team will put up permanent protective roofing over the basilica, conservation of the mosaic will continue alongside further archaeological work.
The latest discoveries offer new evidence for the architecture of Pompeiopolis from Roman Imperial period into Late Antiquity (how monumental spaces in the city were repeatedly modified and reused over several centuries).
Sources : Ministry of Tourism