Old Smyrna, described by Strabo and Aelius Ateides, as revealed by archaeological excavations, was abandoned around 300 BC. Today, it refers to the ancient mound located in the northeast corner of Izmir Bay, known as Eski Smyrna or Tepekule Archaeological Site, which Ekrem Akurgal (2020) referred to as Bayraklı Mound. It is known that the mound was located by the sea in ancient times, but over time, the Meles River filled the coastline. Through archaeological excavations reaching the bedrock, it has been determined that the history of the mound extends to a layer contemporary with Troy I, around 3000-2500 BC, followed by a settlement layer contemporary with Troy II around 2500-2000 BC, and above that, a settlement layer contemporary with Troy VI around 1800-1200 BC. It has been determined that the mound had a settlement dating back to the Early Bronze Age up to the Roman period, making it one of the oldest grid-planned cities in the Western world (7th century BC).

Akurgal states that the brightest period of the mound was during the Iron Age (630-545 BC), where over 3000 people resided, with 500 to 600 houses covering an area of 10 hectares. After the Mycenaean Period, the mound is considered one of the best-preserved and oldest examples of the emerging Hellenic culture (early 10th century BC).

City Walls

The history of the city walls dates back to the Bronze Age. The first defensive wall of the Ionian settlement is seen around 850-800 BC. This structure consists of a wall built with mud bricks in front of the slope of the mound, filled with thousands of andesite stones. There is a square-plan defense tower built of white tuff stone next to the eastern gate of the city. The early defense wall of the city was used in two phases until the second half of the 7th century BC when it was destroyed by King Gyges of Lydia. Rebuilt in the second half of the 7th century BC with a polygonal facade made of andesite stones, the third defense wall occasionally reaches a thickness of 17 meters. The wall, which has rectangular large towers at some points, is known to have a large gate southeast of the Athena Temple.