Excavations in the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey have uncovered the remains of early Byzantine shops and businesses.
Archaeologists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) working this year in Domitian Square, next to the Upper Agora, focused their investigations on a small area (c.170m2) that once housed several businesses.
They found that the rooms of this building complex had been sealed by a thick burnt destruction layer dating to AD 614/615, and beneath this layer was a rich assemblage of well-preserved objects. Among the many finds were c.600 Christian pilgrim bottles (below) and numerous oil lamps; thousands of pieces of pottery, some of which once contained seafood or wine; other food remains such as peach and olive stones; and four gold coins (solidi) and several cash tills containing over 700 coppers. The finds revealed the function of each room: a shop selling Christian pilgrim souvenirs and lamps, a workshop with an adjoining sales room, a cookshop, a tavern, and a storage room.
