Hadrianopolis Archaeological Site

Hadrianopolis, often called Paphlagonian Hadrianopolis to tell it from other cities of the name, lies in Karabük province, about three kilometres west of Eskipazar. The ruins are scattered across the fields around the locality called Viranşehir, spilling over into the villages of Budaklar, Büyükyaylalar, Çaylı and Beytarla. It sat at the meeting of Paphlagonia, Bithynia and Galatia.

Surveys and excavations since 2003 show a town on important trade routes, and inscriptions point to a busy regional market in Roman times. That role helps explain why the site was lived in for so long. Its name changed in the 2nd century AD, and an inscription attests an imperial cult, naming Hadrian alongside Trajan and Nerva.

The visible remains suggest the city grew especially important in the Late Roman and Byzantine periods, when its administrative territory was wide, reaching as far as Karabük. Under Theodosius I it became part of the newly created province of Honorias.

Expect a landscape site rather than a monument-filled park; it rewards those who like to see archaeology in its setting.