Alexandria Troas

Most of the ruins one sees are managed, orchestrated, even contrived. They have been gone over, finely, more than once, and then put back together, hopefully with an eye to authenticity and education. Everything you see has been put there by some contemporary of yours. Perhaps that's a cynical view, but, except for the largest items, I don't think it's far off. Every now and then, however, if you have the opportunity, you can see something significant that awaits excavation, or is in the midst of it. At Alexandria/Troas, a late 4th century BCE Hellenistic/Roman town, we had that opportunity and one of the best site visits we have ever had. Of course, part of it is just wandering through the olive groves, spotting something curious in the distance, and then finding it to be really spectacular. It was our last ruins site in Turkey. (I don't count Troy).

Near the agora, in Alexandria Troas; as an under-developed site, undergoing 
excavation, there was no entrance fee, no parking fee, so we spent the night 
there

In the agora

Temple in the agora

Nicely carved piece

Excavation refuse pile, the small bits (pottery shards)

The medium-sized bits

The large bits

Including these Hellenistic cannon balls

And the extra large bits

Alexandria Troas is noted for having possibly the largest Roman baths complex 
in Anatolia; I saw three sets of these structures around the agora, and concluded 
I had seen the noted baths; but stay tuned...