Ancient salt facility uncovered at Iztuzu beach where the waters receded

With the receding of waters at Iztuzu Beach in the Ortaca district of Muğla, a two-thousand-year-old salt production site, previously used as a salt facility, came to light.

During excavations at the ancient city of Kaunos, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage Temporary List, a team of archaeologists discovered this site in 2005 and conducted an examination.

The formations of salt within the salt pans at the facility revealed that it had remained operational until the present day.

The head of the excavation, mentioned that Kaunos Ancient City had two ports, one for trade and the other for military purposes, indicating that it was a port city. He also noted that ancient sources mentioned Kaunos salt being used as an ingredient in the production of eye ointments in pharmacology.

Furthermore, he said “In the ancient period, we see that the facility was established in this region using an engineering marvel. Through our experimental archaeological studies, we know that an average of 4-5 tons of salt was produced during a salt production period of 3-4 months per year. We know that the produced salt was transported to the port in sacks and exported to Greece, islands, and regions in need by ships.”