İZBAŞ HAS BEEN SUPPORTING PANAZTEPE EXCAVATIONS FOR 15 YEARS

• IZBAS has been supporting the Panaztepe excavations for 15 years.
• Excavations conducted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism have reached the oldest settlement layer at Panaztepe.
• Despite challenging weather conditions, 15 archaeologists continue their work uninterrupted under the leadership of Dr. Ümit Çayır Tığlı, a faculty member at Sivas Cumhuriyet University.
• IZBAS General Manager H. Gürsel Bahçıvancılar:
• “We are aware that the level of development of countries is proportional to the importance they attach to their historical and cultural heritage.”

The İzmir Free Zone has been supporting the Panaztepe excavations, which have been ongoing without interruption since 1985 in neighboring lands in the Menemen district, for 15 years. The findings from the excavations at Panaztepe, a large archaeological site spanning two kilometers, which have been ongoing for 40 years, reveal that the region has been continuously inhabited from the Early Bronze Age 5,000 years ago to the Byzantine-Ottoman period.

Dr. Ümit Çayır Tığlı, a faculty member of the Archaeology Department at Sivas Cumhuriyet University, heads the excavation site, which is run by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, while a total of 15 archaeologists continue their work despite the harsh climatic conditions.

İZBAŞ PROVIDES SUPPORT

H. Gürsel Bahçıvancılar, General Manager of İZBAŞ İzmir Free Zone Founding and Operating Company Inc., stated that they support the Panaztepe excavations in accordance with their corporate social responsibility policies, reminding that they are among the city's most important production and export centers.

Recalling that the excavation site is adjacent to İZBAŞ, Bahçıvancılar added that they believe the acceleration of excavation work and the increased visibility of the ancient city fabric will make the region one of the stops on historical tourism tours.

Bahçıvancılar said, “As IZBAŞ, we are neighbors to Panaztepe and attach great importance to the preservation of our country's historical and cultural heritage. We are aware that the level of development of countries is proportional to the importance they attach to their historical and cultural heritage. We want our support for the scientists working on the excavation to be understood as a corporate social responsibility in this regard.”

THE OLDEST SETTLEMENT LAYER HAS BEEN REACHED

Providing information about the current status of the excavations, Dr. Ümit Çayır Tığlı stated that they have reached the oldest settlement layer of Panaztepe in the excavations that have been ongoing since 2020 next to the Maltepe Village cemetery. Tığlı pointed out that they had identified an Early Bronze Age settlement area consisting of long houses with entrances opening onto a long street. He also stated that a long cultural process spanning different time periods from the Early Bronze Age to the Ottoman period had been identified in the area immediately east of the İZBAŞ site.

Tığlı noted that a Late Bronze Age cemetery area and the Atölyeler Mahallesi neighborhood, where various production activities of the Middle Bronze Age took place, had been uncovered. He emphasized that remains and findings related to ceramic and metal production had been identified, and it was understood that production was carried out in a separate area not far from the settlement area.

CALL FOR SUPPORT FOR THE EXCAVATION HOUSE

Drawing attention to the importance of the support provided by IZBAS for the excavations, which are expected to shed light on the history of Izmir, Tığlı made the following assessment:

"Within the scope of the ‘Heritage for the Future’ project launched last year by our Ministry of Culture and Tourism, we have seen significant increases in the support provided to many excavation sites, including Panaztepe. This is very encouraging for us. The Izmir Metropolitan Municipality also provides financial support for excavations in the city every year. The support provided by IZBAŞ is also very important to us. We are very grateful to both institutions. Unfortunately, we have a labor shortage. We would also like to mention that we need the support of individuals and institutions in this regard and for the urgent needs of our excavation house in Maltepe Village."