Development of Awareness on Cultural Heritage in Ottoman Provinces: Antiquities Discovered in Gediz Town

This study was carried out to determine the awareness on antiquities in Ottoman provinces under the attitude of the administrative and military officials in Hudavendigar province for the antiquities discovered at two different dates in villages and the coins discovered in different years following agreeing upon provision of the necessary stone from the ruin located dose to Gediz town of Kutahya district for the construction of a military warehouse in the town center in 1893. The research based on primary archival materials suggests that the local military and administrative officials were not disinterested towards antiquities whereas awareness among villagers were quite immature. There have been developments in the Ottoman Empire concerning the antiquities, which started in 1846, and which had made a significant progress since 1869. The Sublime Porte was not indifferent to the antiquities found in the town and Abdulhamid II and the central bureaucracy showed the necessary sensitivity to expose the antiquities by conveying them to the Imperial Museum. Although the discoveries of antiquities in Gediz is not unique, the developments experienced are important in terms of showing that the awareness of antiquities has started to form in the provinces compared to previous years.