Southern Area of the Greek Agora in Kos. Archaeological park project.

Abstract

The Anatolian geography comprises several historic buildings as components of our cultural heritage and also many urban/rural patterns which were constituted by these monuments. Konuralp is one of the most important settlement with its 2000 years history which is located on the 8 km. north of Düzce province on the western Black Sea region in Türkiye. Its history goes back to before Christ. The city’s first name “Hypios” was changed as “Kieros” and later the name turned into “Prusias” in the period of 1st. Prusias (3rd. Century B.C.) who was the king of Bithynia. After the Roman Emperor governance on this region about 74 A.D., the city was called as “Prusias ad Hypium” which signifies “Prusias on Hypium river”. The city was under the Byzantium ascendancy until the conquest of Turkish commander “Osman Gazi” in 1323 who gave the control to the commander “Konur Alp Bey”. In Ottoman period, “Üskübü” became the new name of the town but after the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, the town name was changed lastly as “Konuralp” but the inhabitants still call the town as Üskübü and also as “Kasaba” which means “town”. With its 6.000 residents, today the town cultural heritage is comprised of traditional architecture and the Greek/Roman ruins. Its Antique Theatre is located in the center of the town and has an important place with its upper cavea and scena walls which was dated to early Ancient Roman period. Besides, the ramparts from Roman and Byzantine times, a gate which was a part of the ramparts known as “Atlı Kapı”, the ruins of Byzantine and Ottoman Aqueduct are observable monumental buildings in the town. The vernacular houses in traditional architecture still exist in the danger of extinction because of urbanization policies but there are many examples of those traditional buildings which were constructed in wooden frame systems with brick or wooden filling wall systemsThe project, included in a degree thesis held at the Polytechnic of Bari, is a plan for an archaeological park set in the area of the Hellenistic agora of Kos (Greece). The proposal is based on a preliminary historical research, in these years carried out by prof. G. Rocco e M. Livadiotti, focused on the reconstruction of the ancient form of the large agora (IV-II cent. B.C.). The study analyses the remains of building structures and architectural fragments discovered in six different diggings. Our project goals are: 1) to allow visitors to understand the original plan of the city, although the deep contrast with the current urban tissue; 2) to redevelop the six archaeological sites analysed in order to make the remains of the ancient agora accessible to the public and, moreover, to allow to consider them as elements of a single monument. The planning is developed at urban scale and involves enlargement and redefinition of the excavated portions, creation of accesses and footbridges and eventually anastylosis in situ of some remains. Other relevant features of the project are: 1) the building of retaining walls made of concrete covered with a earth mixture which makes wall surface similar to the ground; 2) the insertion of vegetation in some specific areas which, on one hand, functions as enclosure and visual barrier to modern city and, on the other, it works as instrument to highlight the most important streets of the ancient city. Since it’s not allowed to build in archaeological sites, it’s chosen to use green-system to configure three-dimensional space. Therefore, control and knowledge of the specific form of woody species play an important role in the project.