We are glad to inform you that an international symposium on Archaeology and history of the Cayster (Küçük Menderes) Valley in south-eastern inland part of Izmir, Turkey will take place on November 17-18, 2023 on Zoom. Küçük Menderes (“Little Meander”), Cayster River or Kaystros River (Ancient Greek: Κάϋστρος, French: Caÿstre) or Caystrus River is a river south of İzmir, Turkey. It flows westward between the ranges of Mount Tmolos and Mount Messogis through “wide, thickly settled and productive” plains (Strabo 13.4.13). Cayster (Küçük Menderes) Valley had an economy based on agriculture in ancient and medieval times as well as today. Although the settlement history of the Cayster (Küçük Menderes) Valley begins with prehistoric times, it can be said with the help of archaeological data that the urbanization extends to the Hellenistic Period. Intended to bring together scholars of Greek, Roman and Byzantine archaeology to discuss a range of issues concerning Cayster (Küçük Menderes) Valley, this electronic conference is an excellent opportunity to increase our knowledge about this region. Papers engageging the following themes and topics are invited:

– Cayster (Küçük Menderes) Valley during the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods,
– Archaeological field projects in Cayster (Küçük Menderes) Valley,
– Ancient Greek, Latin and Byzantine authors and other textual as well as cartographic sources,
– Miscellanea.

On all themes and questions, all approaches and methods susceptible to bring some progress to our current knowledge are of course welcome: archaeology, ancient history, historical geography, epigraphy, numismatic, history of art, cultural anthropology etc. The symposium will take place virtually on Zoom. All the readings and discussions in our e-conference will be in English, and recorded for later viewing on YouTube. The proceedings of the symposium will be published in 2025. The symposium is free of charge.
We would be delighted, if you could consider contributing to our symposium and contact us with the required information below before September 9, 2023. Our e-mail address is: ergun.lafli@deu.edu.tr
The organizers seek to widen participation at this symposium, and would like to encourage colleagues from all parts of the world to attend. We kindly request that you alert any interested researches, colleagues and students within your research community who would be interested in participating at this e-conference, either by forwarding our first circular and poster through Academia, Researchgate, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other similar social media, or by printing them and displaying in your institution. Please share them also on your ListServs. We hope that you will be able to join us on Zoom, and look forward to seeing you!