Mersin Museum is the main museum of
Mersin
Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. It is operated by the
Ministry of Culture and Tourism. However after establishing a new museum, i.e.,
Mersin Archaeological Museum
Mersin Archaeological Museum is a museum in Mersin, Turkey
Location
The museum is at to the east of Mersin Naval Museum, to the south of Muğdat Mosque and to the north of Adnan Menderes Boulevard. Its total land area , including the yard is . ...
most of the exhibits were moved to the new museum.
History
Mersin Province
Mersin Province ( tr, ), formerly İçel Province ( tr, ), is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital and the biggest city in the province is Mersin, which is composed of fo ...
has many ancient sites.
Yumuktepe
Yumuktepe (or Yümüktepe) is a tell (ruin mound) at within the city borders of Mersin, Turkey. In 1936, the mound was on the outskirts of Mersin, but after a rapid increase of population, the mound was surrounded by the Toroslar municipality o ...
and
Soli in
Mersin
Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...
city and
Gözlükule
Gözlükule is a tumulus within the borders of Tarsus city, Mersin Province, Turkey. It is now a park with an altitude of with respect to surrounding area.
History
Initially settled in the Neolithic Period, Gözlükule became an important set ...
in
Tarsus are among these. But prior to the foundation Mersin Museum, the findings were exhibited in other museums. Mersin Museum was founded in 1978. After 1991 the museum was located in the present site, the eastern wing of
Mersin Halkevi
Mersin Halkevi is a building in Mersin, Turkey originally built within the scope of the project Halkevleri, but currently used as a cultural center and opera house.
History
Halkevleri was an important enlightenment project in the early years o ...
.
The exhibition
The stone findings such as pithoses and steles are exhibited in the yard. The museum has two floors. In the ground floor there are two exhibition halls. In the first hall,
stelae
A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
and
amphorae
An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...
of the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
period are exhibited. The terracota tombs are from Soli. Various pottery and handicrafts as well as metal ormanets of the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
,
Chalcolithic
The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...
and
Early Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
are displayed in the second hall. Most of these are the findings in Yumuktepe and Gözlükule sites. The third hall on the upper floor is reserved for the ethnographic items of
Turkmen
Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to:
Peoples Historical ethnonym
* Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages
Ethnic groups
* Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...
culture such as ornamental items, carpets, clothes, prayer rosaries, wooden and copper artifacts, weapons etc. In addition to 446 items there are also 999 coins.
Gallery
File:Mersin History Museum - yard - 01.jpg , Stela and column capitals
File:Mersin History Museum - first floor - 07.jpg , Golden decorations
File:Mersin History Museum - first floor - 10.jpg , Pithoses, jars and other vessels
File:Mersin History Museum - second floor - 01.jpg , Coat, belt buckles
A belt buckle is a buckle, a clasp for fastening two ends, such as of straps or a belt, in which a device attached to one of the ends is fitted or coupled to the other. The word enters Middle English via Old French and the Latin ''buccula'' ...
and decorations
See also
*
Atatürk Museum, Mersin
References
External links
Mersin Metropolitan municipality page
{{authority control
Archaeological museums in Turkey
Culture in Mersin
Museums established in 1978
Ethnographic museums in Turkey
Tourist attractions in Mersin
History of Mersin Province
Museums in Mersin
1978 establishments in Turkey