Turkey - Xanthos and the Létôon

Xanthos is in the south-west of Turkey, 5O km south-east of Fethiye, in the ancient country of Lycia. Xanthos was discovered by Ch. Fellows in 1838. In the course of the expeditions in the following years, he transported pieces as well as many blocks of several monuments back to the British Museum. The Letôon was discovered in 1839.

At the end of the 19^th century, a team of Austrian epigraphists studied the inscriptions readily available at that time. Excavations of both sites started only after World War II : Xanthos in 1950, Letôon in 1962. Both sites are excavated (in collaboration with Turkish Archaeological authorities) by a French Team, presently conducted by J. des Courtils and financed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research, Bordeaux Laboratory), in collaboration whith the Anatolian French Research Institute (Istanbul).