The territory of Hierapolis in Phrygia after the Greek colonization and some remarks on Nikaia in Bithynia and Apollonia in Pisidia: the evidence from archaeological surveys and satellite remote sensing

This study is based mostly on the results of archaeological surveys performed in recent years as part of the research activities of the Italian Archaeological Mission at Hierapolis of Phrygia, in Denizli province (southwestern Turkey: Figure 1). The field surveys were carried out in the ancient territory of Hierapolis by researchers of the Laboratory of Ancient Topography, Archaeology and Remote Sensing of the Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage of the National Research Council of Italy.1 The research, conducted in the years 2005-2008 and 2013, can be seen as contributing to the reconstruction of some aspects of Greek colonization during the Hellenistic age in this area, regarding in particular its organization and exploitation. Among the archaeological evidence documented in the territory of Hierapolis what is particularly notable is the regular land division that could be datable to the Hellenistic age itself. Thanks to the contribution of satellite remote sensing, a similar organization of countryside, perhaps of the same period, could also be documented in the territories of Nikaia in Bithynia and Apollonia in Pisidia.