Zeugma Lejyon Yerleşkesi: Yeni Araştırmalar, Sonuçlar ve Ön Değerlendirmeler
This study presents the results of archaeological surveys and geophysical investigations carried out at Zeugma between 2008 and 2014, focusing on the location, extent and character of the Roman military settlement at At Meydanı, west of Belkıs Tepe.
Görkay argues that this large fortified area developed beyond the limits of the Hellenistic city into an extensive military-urban quarter associated with legio IIII Scythica and other legionary, auxiliary and vexillatio units stationed at Zeugma. Rather than a conventional isolated fortress, the evidence suggests a settlement increasingly integrated into the urban fabric of the city. The article examines its fortifications, streets and possible military structures, including a campus for training and parades and two structures tentatively identified as amphitheatres. Comparisons with Dura-Europos suggest that similar patterns of military and civilian integration may have developed at both sites.
Of particular importance for Mithraic studies is a marble tauroctony relief discovered near At Meydanı in 2015. The relief, which preserves traces of red pigment, is the first known archaeological evidence for the cult of Mithras at Zeugma. Its findspot and apparent architectural association lead Görkay to propose the existence of a mithraeum within the military quarter, possibly near the western fortifications overlooking Bahçedere.
