Guide
The Gültepe necropolis lies in the Gültepe quarter, about two kilometres from the centre of İzmit in Kocaeli. The ancient necropolis, built between the second and ninth centuries AD, and a Byzantine sacred building came to light during the construction of the İstanbul–Ankara motorway through İzmit. Finds recovered by the Kocaeli Museum Directorate in its work on the site — jars, tear bottles, mirrors — were taken to the museum.
The roadworks of 1991 uncovered a tomb chamber with frescoes, together with a number of hypogea, the remains of a cross-plan church, tomb chambers of long narrow rectangular rooms, and the remains of a martyrion, known to have been built for Christian martyrs.
The site now stands neglected, and illegal digging has damaged the tomb chambers and the remains of the church.
Nikomedeia is known to have had two large necropolis areas, one outside the city to the east and one to the west, and research has established that there were others besides. Various graves were found during excavation work at the İzmit paper factory. The eastern necropolis ran from the eastern walls as far as Bekirdere. In excavations at Nikomedeia in 1967 a vaulted tomb chamber of the second century AD was found. The city also holds a large place in the rich range of epigrams from the region.
