Söğüt said the excavation team reached the church which was built after an earthquake in 365 AD. He added the church remained to the first quarter of the 7th century; later, the area was used as a cemetery.
He said that they carried out most of the excavations in the area called West Street of the city, adding, "Here, a church was built on the colonnaded street. Later, when the church was destroyed, the area was turned into a cemetery in the Byzantine period, in the 7th century AD."
He underlined that the team is working on the field where both tombs and the church were located, noting, "Currently, we are restoring the floor coverings of the church."
Söğüt said that the stones found in the excavations are handed over to "stone hospital", where they are being restored.
"Here, we exhibit both the floor of the church and several Byzantine tombs which were built by the materials from the church's floor," he added.
He also noted that at least four different marble colors were used for the church's floor, adding that they have located 62 tombs in the area so far.
