Archaeologists found belonging to women 2 thousand years old cosmetics in the Roman City of Aizonai

In the Ancient City of Aizanoi in Çavdarhisar district of Kütahya from Turkey, the remains of cosmetics such as bijouterie products and make-up materials used by Roman women 2 thousand years ago were brought to light.

The excavations in the ancient city, which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2012 and hosts the best-preserved Temple of Zeus in Anatolia, continue with the support of the Governorship of Kütahya and sponsored by Kütahya Dumlupınar University (DPU), Gürok Tourism and Mining and Halk (Public) Investment.

Prof. Dr. Gökhan Coşkun, Head of the Department of Archaeology at DPU Faculty of Arts and Sciences, told AA correspondent that the excavations are mainly carried out in the agora (bazaar) to the east of the Temple of Zeus.

Stating that they reached 2 thousand years old shops in the bazaar, Coşkun said, "Our work continues not only inside the shops but also around them. During these works, we come across various inscriptions. Those inscriptions give us information about the centuries in which these shops were established, and built and between which centuries they were active."

Coşkun stated that the shops in the agora shed light on the commercial and social structure of the city.

Emphasizing that the finds in one of the shops both made them happy and surprised them, Coşkun said, "We have determined that the place we have completely uncovered is a shop where cosmetic products such as perfume, bijouterie, and make-up materials were sold. During the excavation here, we came across many perfume bottles. Apart from that, there are bijouterie products. Among these, various beads are belonging to products such as hair pins and necklaces used especially by women."

- "People are always the same people, women are always the same women"

Prof. Dr. Coşkun stated that these remains are makeup materials used by Roman women.

Referring to the types of materials found during the excavation, Coşkun continued as follows:
 "The most surprising of the findings was that we encountered make-up paints just like blush and eyeshadow today. Of course, these are not very well preserved. Sometimes they are found in pieces of one millimeter, sometimes two millimeters. In the excavation, we also found a completely intact piece. We know that in the Ancient Roman Empire, make-up materials such as blush and eyeshadow were often used by placing them inside oyster shells. In the shop we excavated, we also came across a large number of oyster shells."

Coşkun stated that the colors in red and pink tones were in the majority and that they found make-up paint in 10 different colors and said, "The work we have done in this shop actually tells us that people are always the same people, women are always the same women. In ancient times, women wore make-up, necklaces and designed their hair to make them look beautiful. This continues today, which is the beauty of women."

AA - Translated by arkeolojikhaber