A wall belonging to the period of Roman Emperor Theodosius the Great was unearthed in Ayasuluk Hill and St. Jean excavation area in Izmir, Turkey. The excavations in St. John’s Church were begun in 1921 by the Greek General Sotiriou, according to the excavation’s head, Assoc. Dr. Sinan Mimarolu, “Saint John the apostle came to Ephesus and lived here until he was 100 years old and died. During Justinian’s reign, the church expanded. The excavations have been going on for 100 years. During the years of occupation, the Greek general Sotiriou conducted the first excavations. Excavation is being carried out to directly reach St. John’s tomb. Its research and examination have not been completed. This structure is a very important Orthodox structure in Western Anatolia,” he said.
Assoc. Dr. Mimarolu stated that they are working on the northern part of the church as part of the 2021 excavations, saying, “Our excavations showed us that there is a monumental structure here. Beginning with the Late Byzantine Period, we uncovered the wall dating back to the Middle and Early Byzantine Period, possibly the Theodosian Period,” Mimarolu explained, adding that 8 human skeletons discovered around the church from the Late and Middle Byzantine periods.
