Ankara Roma Tiyatrosu

About Ankara Roma Tiyatrosu

The Roman Theatre of Ankara (Ankara Roma Tiyatrosu) lies on the north-west slope of the Ankara Castle hill in Altındağ, south-east of the Temple of Augustus and overlooking the Bent Deresi valley. Its date of construction is not known for certain, but it is generally placed in the 2nd century AD. The theatre came to light in 1982 during foundation digging for a building, and was excavated between 1982 and 1986 under the lead of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations; it was registered as an archaeological site in 1992. The digs uncovered vaulted entrance passages, the paved orchestra, the seating area (cavea) and the foundations and walls of the stage building, along with many sculptures, most of which are now shown on the lower floor of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. Later work in 2009-2010 showed that the building was used as a ceramics and glass workshop in the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. Turkish Wikipedia describes a semicircular cavea built into the natural slope of the castle hill, with an estimated 20 to 22 rows of seats for roughly 3,000 to 5,000 spectators, a semicircular orchestra about 13 metres across and a stage building with five doors. Much of the original seating was later reused in the castle walls. After the last excavations the site was handed to Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, which restored it as the Roma Tiyatrosu ve Arkeopark project; in June 2025 the municipality reported the restoration finished, with original stones of the theatre displayed along the north-east side and lit walkways. The restoration, which covered the seating in white marble, was criticised by many experts as not faithful to the original. Guided walks of Roman Ankara now meet at the theatre's entrance gate before continuing to Hacı Bayram.