İznik Hisardere Necropolis

İznik Hisardere Necropolis is located in Bursa province, İznik District, Hisardere Village, Bayırdibi locality. The necropolis area is 1.2 km inland from Lake Iznik, 2.4 km north of the city center of Iznik and on a land of 10,400 m2 with vineyards and olive groves. The area was registered as a First Degree Archaeological Site by the Cultural Heritage Preservation Board in 1992 and was expropriated in 2018 to prevent illegal excavations that have gained continuity. Under the Presidency of the Iznik Museum in the Necropolis and Assoc. Dr. Scientific excavations under the scientific coordination of Aygün Ekin Meriç are still continuing.

The Hisardere Necropolis area provides very important information about the burial customs of Nikaia (Iznik) with its finds between the 2nd and 5th centuries AD. Dated to the 2nd century AD in the necropolis area; Two sarcophagi with Eros relief were found, including the Sarcophagus of Gregorios, the Sarcophagus of the Gods , the Sarcophagus of Antigonos and the Sarcophagus of Nigrenie and his Daughter Astyrist . Apart from the sarcophagi, “Room Tombs with Terracotta Lid Roof”  and simple stone tombs, which are family tombs unique to Iznik and dated to the 3rd century AD, were found. In some sarcophagi, it was observed that the grave owners were tightly shrouded in cotton fabric and buried with grave gifts. It was understood that the floor mosaic found on the Sarcophagus of Nigrenie and his Daughter Astyrist and the walls associated with this mosaic belong to a basilica structure dated to the 5th century AD.

All the sarcophagi unearthed are exhibited in the Iznik Museum. With a project to be prepared in the future, it is planned to organize the area as a “Necropark”.

Sarcophagus of Gregorios

Sarcophagus of the Gods

Sarcophagus of Antigonos

Sarcophagus of Nigrenie and his Daughter Astyrist

Room Tombs with Terracotta Lid Roof

Nigrenie and Daughter Astyrist in Shroud

The Mosaic Floor of the Basilica