Pressemitteilung_20180126

As announced yesterday by Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl and her Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoğlu in a joint press conference, the Austrian Archaeological Institute (OeAI) at the Austrian Academy of Sciences is again allowed to resume its archaeological work in Ephesos.

Director of the OeAI Sabine Ladstätter: „We are very pleased that we are again able to work in Ephesos. We would like to thank Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl and Minister Mevlüt Cavusoğlu whose commitment made this possible. We view it as a mandate to do our best for Ephesos.“

The excavations in the ancient city of Ephesos (western Turkey) had been suspended due to political tensions between Austria and Turkey since August 2016 and it was not possible to work on site. Ephesos, one of the most popular travel destinations in Turkey, became a UNESCO world heritage site in 2015. The excavations have been directed by the OeAI since 1895 and is a large archaeological enterprise today that on average employs 250 academic staff from up to 20 countries. Approximately one third of the participants are Turkish scholars. The Austrian involvement does not only include excavations but also monument preservation as well as the reconstruction of ancient monuments among other tasks.

Sabine Ladstätter: „As a result of the positive news from Turkey we will now focus on the preparation of the projects and gladly look forward to beginning our work.“

(Vienna, January 26, 2018)

The following pictures (including photo credit) may be used free of charge for press reports.

Photo 01: Portrait of Sabine Ladstätter (Photo: OeAW-OeAI/Niki Gail)
Photo 02: Celsus Library, Ephesos (Photo: OeAW-OeAI/Niki Gail)