What Happened in Soli-Pompeiopolis Within the Last Two Centuries?

Abstract

Soli-Pompeiopolis, once a glorious harbor city of Roman Empire, have not been settled after its destruction due to an earthquake in 525 AD until the modern times of the city of Mersin. During the time of their visits to Soli-Pompeiopolis, the 19th century European travelers have presented their observations on the ancient city in their notes. Most of the archaeological remains mentioned in travelers’ notes are not present currently in the site. The main question arises as what has happened to the ancient city within the last two centuries so that archaeological remains had disappeared. The aim of this article is to explore settlement history of Soli-Pompeiopolis ancient site and its vicinity in order to determine factors resulted in loss of archaeological remains. The article intends to conduct historical analysis to detect settlement history and comparative analysis to understand the severity and reason of the damage given to the site.