The excavations that started in the region with the efforts of Baki Ogün in 1966 were later led under the chairmanship of his student Cengiz Işık, and lasted until 2020.
Işık's student Ufuk Cortuk took over the excavations' chairmanship this year.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Cortuk said the ancient city became famous for many "first breakthroughs," such as the rotary curtain system in the ancient theatre, the piggy bank for donations to the gods, world-famous rock tombs, as well as the Carian-Greek bilingual inscriptions.
He emphasized that the excavations in Kaunos have been carried on by the Turkish scientific delegation for the past 55 years.
"Excavations in the ancient city have been taking place in the Roman basilica bordering the western side of the port agora for the last three years. During the excavations we carried out in the basilica, which dates back to the 2nd century AD, we encountered a Byzantine church," Cortuk said.
He explained that the Roman basilica is a gigantic structure, 98 meters (321.5 feet) long and 22 meters (72 feet) wide.
"We continue the excavations in the church that was unearthed. During our work in the church, we came across the tomb, which most likely belongs to the church's high priest, and has very fine workmanship. This tomb contains at least three-four burials in a row. So, it has a very interesting structure," Cortuk said.
He went on to say that two more graves -- Byzantine tombs -- were found in the place adjacent to the western wall of the church.
The excavations head underlined that two huge blocks were also unearthed in the eastern part of the church.
"There are inscriptions on them. It is among the important troves of this year. Work is underway to fully understand the inscription," he said, adding that the Greek inscription "is not so easy" to read.
Kaunos "sheds light on the unknowns of archeology" and very important historical structures were unearthed in the city in half a century, Cortuk also noted.
