← Back to the mapFacade of the Library of Celsus at the ancient city of Ephesus
Modern photograph of the Library of Celsus, Ephesus · Wikimedia Commons

Ephesus

Asia · Roman province·Turkey·Founded 10th c. BCE (Ionian)

Capital of the province of Asia, home of the Temple of Artemis (one of the Seven Wonders) and the Library of Celsus.

An uninhabited UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site by the town of Selcuk, Turkey, one of the best-preserved ancient cities in the Mediterranean.

Excavation history

1863-1874
John Turtle Wood (British engineer, for the British Museum) — Searched for and, after six years, located the remains of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
1895
Otto Benndorf, later the Austrian Archaeological Institute (founded 1898) — Began the systematic excavation of Ephesus the Austrian Archaeological Institute has directed ever since, pausing only during the two World Wars.
1967-1983
Austrian Archaeological Institute — Excavated the Terrace Houses, the well-preserved multi-story residences of wealthy Ephesians, reopened to visitors in 2006 under a purpose-built protective roof.

Notable finds

Great Artemis
This over-two-meter cult statue of Artemis of Ephesus, her skirt carved with rows of bulls, bees and stags, was unearthed in the city's Prytaneion in 1956.
Ephesus Archaeological Museum, Selcuk
Beautiful Artemis
A smaller, more finely carved cult statue of the same many-figured Artemis came out of the same Prytaneion excavation as the Great Artemis and now stands beside it.
Ephesus Archaeological Museum, Selcuk
Parthian Monument frieze
Austrian excavators dismantled this monumental marble frieze, carved with scenes from Emperor Lucius Verus's Parthian War, from a public building at Ephesus in the 1890s and shipped it to Vienna.
Ephesos Museum, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Temple of Hadrian foundation reliefs
Carved panels from the Temple of Hadrian's porch depict the hero Androklos hunting the boar that marked Ephesus's founding; the originals were moved indoors and replaced on site with casts.
Ephesus Archaeological Museum, Selcuk
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