The 28th season of excavations at Arycanda started in July 1999. The excavations are being conducted by Prof. Cevdet Bayburtluoglu and his team from Ankara University, Turkey. This season's planned work will be:

1. Excavation of Hellenistic domestic quarters around the Temple of Helios on the acropolis: The temple mentioned in a Hellenistic poem (Schol. Pind. Ol. 7,35b) was excavated in 1990 and sondages in and around the temenos area were continued since. In 1998, the area to the east of temple was excavated to discover remains of the eastern propylae of the temenos. When a number of interesting finds have been made in this sector, the area was enlarged to bring out Hellenistic and earlier domestic quarters. In 1998 a terraced house on 3 levels was discovered. An interesting find was a rock cut shrine for Artemis Kombikes. Fragmentary altars and pieces of bronze sculpture were found here. Most important find was a life size bronze pigeon, fragment from a Hellenistic bronze colossal size sculpture, known from marble examples as a girl holding pigeon. A section of canalization running from here to the agora was also excavated. Inside the canal aprox. 700 coins (most are stuck together) were found. They range from Lycian dynastic types to the 1st halve of the 1st cent A.D. which gives us a date for the use of the houses in this area. This year planned work will be conducted in the same sector to look for earlier phases.

2. Restoration work: Planned restoration work will be conducted on 5th cent.AD. house and workshop complex in the lower city. This area was excavated in 1996. In 1998 the mosaic floor of one of the shops was re-excavated (it was buried for conservation). Repairs were done and a wooden roof was erected over the room. This year, walls around this row of shops, inside the house, the glass workshop and small baths will be checked and some in danger of collapsing will be repaired. Our aim is only to preserve what was brought out, not to re-built a modern construction. -Photogrametrical record of previously excavated structures will be continued by METU team.

3. Preperation for publication of various aspects of the site is continuing. Prof. Bayburtluoglu plans to publish his finished book on Arycanda this year.

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