Archaeologists have unveiled nine previously unknown inscriptions discovered during a survey at the ancient city of Akmoneia, near modern Ahatköy in Türkiye’s Uşak Province. The discoveries provide fresh insight into the civic, religious and military life of the ancient city during the Roman period.
Akmoneia was an important ancient Greek city in eastern Phrygia, founded during the Hellenistic era following the campaigns of Alexander the Great. It later flourished under Roman rule, becoming a prosperous urban centre where Greek language, culture and religious traditions continued to dominate public life despite its incorporation into the Roman Empire.
Among the newly discovered monuments are two fragmentary honorary inscriptions that reveal new details about a prominent local benefactor named Demades. Researchers confirmed he is the same individual honoured in an inscription dated to AD 68, where he was credited with sponsoring numerous public statues. One newly identified inscription further reveals that Demades also commissioned a torch-bearing statue (lampadephoros), highlighting his role in supporting the city’s civic and religious life.
Another significant inscription records that the priest Hierokles and his son Hermogenes erected a statue of Demeter Karpophoros, the Greek goddess of the harvest, and dedicated it to the divi Augusti (the deified emperors) and the people of Akmoneia. The inscription closely resembles another monument published in recent years, suggesting the pair carried out a coordinated programme of statue dedications along the city’s main street.
Three of the newly published inscriptions are funerary monuments. One preserves a poetic epitaph for a man from the ancient city of Synnada who appears to have served in the Roman army. The same stone also commemorates another individual named Thalamos, who likewise seems to have held a military position. Researchers believe the two men were likely comrades who were buried or memorialised together.
The remaining inscriptions survive only in fragmentary form. One, carved on an architectural architrave, is believed to have formed part of a public building inscription, offering further evidence of Akmoneia’s urban development.
Although the site now lies within modern-day Türkiye, Akmoneia formed part of the wider Greek world of Asia Minor, where Greek remained the language of public administration, religion and civic identity for centuries. The newly discovered inscriptions reinforce the enduring Greek cultural character of the city while also illustrating how its inhabitants adapted to life under Roman rule.
The discoveries significantly expand the epigraphic record of Akmoneia and offer historians valuable new evidence about public benefaction, religious worship, civic organisation and military service in one of the ancient Greek cities of Asia Minor.