Hatay Archaeology Museum 3.57

The Hatay Archaeology Museum is the archaeology museum of Hatay Province, Turkey. It is known for its extensive collection of Roman and Byzantine Era mosaics. The museum is located in Antakya, the main city of Hatay. Construction of the museum started in 1934 on the recommendation of the French archaeologist and antiquities inspector M. Prost. It was completed in 1938 and came under Turkish control in 1939 following Hatay's unification with Turkey. The museum was opened to the public in 1948 and re-opened in 1975 following renovation and expansion.CollectionHatay has a rich collection of mosaics dating back to the Hellenistic and to the Roman era in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. They have been found in the ancient cities of Daphne, Seleucia Pieria (Samandağ), Antioch and Tarsus. The most famous figures among those depicted by the mosaics are the drunken Dionysos, Orpheus, Dancers, Ariadne Abandoned from Defne (Yakto). Column capitals, a sacrificial altar, a cult image, a bas-relief, a fresco and statues date from the Hittites to Roman periods. They were found by excavations in barrows in the plain of Amik. The works in the museum are arranged according to where they were found. Excavations have been carried out at barrows, tells and ruins such as Guneyde, Dehep, Catalhoyuk, Tainat, Al Mina, Ac-ana, Defne-Harbiye and so on. The collection also includes objects from Antakya and its surrounding regions.