Discover the Ancient Bursa Hidden Beneath the Ottoman City
Most travellers arrive in Bursa thinking first of
Ottoman mosques,
royal tombs,
silk bazaars
and the early sultans.
But Bursa's history began thousands of years before Osman Gazi and Orhan Gazi.
The
Bursa Archaeology Museum – Bursa Arkeoloji Müzesi
reveals that much deeper story through archaeological finds discovered across
Bursa,
southern Marmara
and the ancient regions traditionally known as
Bithynia and Mysia.
Its collections stretch from
Middle Miocene fossils and prehistoric settlements
through the Bronze Age,
Iron Age,
Persian rule,
Archaic,
Classical,
Hellenistic,
Roman
and Eastern Roman – Byzantine periods.
Among the museum's most memorable objects are
the celebrated
bronze Athena bust and bronze Apollo statue from Miletepolis,
prehistoric finds from
Aktopraklık Höyük,
fossils from the
Paşalar Fossil Locality,
Roman marble sculpture,
ancient glass,
jewellery,
medical instruments,
coins,
funerary monuments
and the spectacular discoveries from the
Üçpınar Tumulus.
One gallery reconstructs an
ancient chariot
from wheel fragments and horse equipment discovered during excavation,
while nearby
Greco-Persian funerary steles
provide a rare glimpse into western Anatolia during the period of Achaemenid Persian domination.
The museum is important for another reason.
Its institutional history reaches back to the earliest years of modern museology in Türkiye.
Bursa's first museum collection developed at the beginning of the 20th century,
became a branch of the
Ottoman Imperial Museum – Müze-i Hümayun
in 1904,
later moved to the Green Madrasa
and finally transferred its archaeological collection to the present purpose-built museum inside
Reşat Oyal Kültürpark in 1972.
For travellers who want to understand Bursa beyond its Ottoman monuments,
this is one of the city's most valuable museums.
It explains the civilisation beneath the modern streets:
prehistoric villages,
ancient sanctuaries,
Roman cities,
burial traditions,
trade,
religion,
art
and everyday life long before Bursa became an Ottoman capital.
Prehistory to Byzantium
Follow thousands of years of human history from prehistoric communities and the Bronze Age through Roman and Byzantine Anatolia.
Bronze Athena & Apollo
See two of the museum's signature classical works discovered at the ancient city of Miletepolis.
Aktopraklık Höyük
Discover prehistoric objects and burial evidence from one of the most important archaeological settlements near Bursa.
Üçpınar Chariot Finds
Explore an extraordinary group of wheel pieces, horse equipment and funerary discoveries associated with a 6th-century BC tumulus.
Greco-Persian Steles
Study rare funerary monuments reflecting the cultural world of western Anatolia under Achaemenid Persian rule.
Roman Bursa
Encounter marble portraits, statues, funerary monuments, glassware, lamps, jewellery and objects from Roman life.
