Editing Perga (section)

== City monuments ==
[[File:2007 0215TurkeyThursdayA0098 (3281744467).jpg|thumb|South baths plan]]

Excavations started in 1946 and have uncovered many monumental buildings: a [[Roman theatre (structure)|theatre]], a stadium, [[palaestra]], a temple of [[Artemis]] and two churches. The [[temple of Artemis]] was located outside the town.<ref name=Catholic>{{Catholic|wstitle=Perge|inline=1}}</ref> Many of the coins struck in the city portrayed both the goddess and her sanctuary.<ref name="realmofhistory.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.realmofhistory.com/2017/07/25/greek-mythology-mosaic-perga/ |title=A Bevy Of Greek Mythology-Depicting Mosaics Uncovered At The Ancient City Of Perga, Turkey |access-date=2018-02-11 |archive-date=2018-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120221100/https://www.realmofhistory.com/2017/07/25/greek-mythology-mosaic-perga/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Hellenistic walls date from the 3rd c. BC and had 3 gates. The south gate is particularly monumental and includes 2 towers 3 storeys high with conical roofs and a horseshoe-shaped square behind. Under [[Hadrian]] in 121 AD, a triumphal arch was inserted into the northern wall of the courtyard and the facades were covered in precious marbles and decorated with columns and statues.

One of the most impressive monuments is the theatre which lies outside the walls near the stadium. It is larger than those of [[Myra]] and [[Patara (Lycia)|Patara]].

The south baths created in the 1st c. AD is one of the best preserved buildings and is noteworthy for its size and monumentality, and for the large collection of sculptures found there.

Perge has been dubbed as “Turkey’s second [[Zeugma, Commagene|Zeugma]]” for the alluring appearance of the mosaics that have been unearthed so far. In 2003 archaeologists discovered well-preserved Greek [[mosaics]] showing [[Oceanus]] and [[Medusa]]. In 2017 a mosaic depicting the sacrifice of [[Iphigenia]] was discovered.<ref name="hurriyetdailynews.com">[http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/1800-year-old-mosaic-found-in-ancient-city-of-perge-115733 1,800-year-old mosaic found in ancient city of Perge]</ref><ref name="realmofhistory.com"/>

The city was eventually supplied in the Roman era by 2 aqueducts.<ref>G. Buyukyildirim (1994): Perge kenti tarihsel su yapilari (Historical water structures of the city of Perge)</ref>  The Kursunlu aqueduct was 11&nbsp;km long and probably built to supply baths from close to the Kursunlu waterfall. A later aqueduct of 21&nbsp;km length used a greater flow from the Duden river near the Dudenbasi waterfall.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/perge/index.html | title=Roman aqueducts: Perge (Turkey) }}</ref>

Perge had at least 6 [[nymphaeum|nymphaea]], the most striking being the northern, or "Hadrian's", nymphaeum (about 122 AD) and the southern nymphaeum in the square of [[Septimius Severus]] (end 2nd to early 3rd c. AD). Hadrian's nymphaeum was beautifully decorated with numerous sculptures including the river god [[Cestrus]] under whom water cascaded. It is located at the edge of the acropolis to capture the outflow of the abundant water supply and from there fed the channel that flowed through the city. The southern nymphaeum faces the courtyard of Septimius Severus and is next to the [[propylon]] (monumental entrance) of the southern baths whose hydraulic system provided it with water.

A full-body statue of a dressed female was revealed by archaeologists headed by Sedef Cokay Kepçe in 2020. The statue, believed to have been made during the Roman Empire, will be on display at the Antalya Museum.<ref>{{Cite web|title=3rd-century statue unearthed in ancient city|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/3rd-century-statue-unearthed-in-ancient-city-156929|access-date=2020-07-29|website=Hürriyet Daily News|date=28 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=3rd-century statue unearthed in ancient Greek city of Perge|url=https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/3rd-century-statue-unearthed-in-ancient.html|access-date=2020-07-29|website=The Archaeology News Network|archive-date=2020-07-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729093716/https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/3rd-century-statue-unearthed-in-ancient.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>