The analytic conservation of the historical continiuty in multi-layered towns by the methodology of urban archaeology (the Smyrna sample)

Generally the sites have been settled for a long historical process in our country. They have been controlled and formated by civilizations of different cultural and social structures. Smyrna (İzmir), one of these, has been installed in the 3rd century B.C. during the Hellenistic period, and has been occupied by the Roman, Byzantine, States and Ottoman ?Turkish periods without interruption. The civilizations of different periods have formated the urban space under the effects of the previous culture. Every civilization has formated its own urban space under the effects of the previous culture. The urban morphology of today bases on this.The urban structure has been renewed by the effects of the naturel disasters, fires and reconstruction studies throughout the historical process. Especially the reconstruction applications which were made under the pressure of urbanism and development following the Republic period has transformed the traditional physical environment, but on the other hand destroyed the present and potantial archeological cultural layers, a part of the whole. It is obvious that the most dominant process in the formation of the physical environment is the Ottoman-Turkish period. Many layers belonging to undefined previous periods are still under the ground partially or as a whole.The concept of conservation moved from the monumental buildings to the traditional patterns and even to the near sides of the buildings in time. The conservation practices of today are still interested in the top layer, and the underground layer of great potential and the conservation of the integrated development of the site are neglected. Due to this, in the scope of this study İzmir has been evaluated by the urban archeology method in a time frame from its installation in the 3rd century B.C.to day in the frame of the growth of the urban center from the skirts of the Pagos Mountain to its boundaries in late 19th century.The formation of the site in the historical process and its transformation in time have been analysed physically and socially at first hand. The transformations have been evaluated in the unity of space plan, and the vertical and horizontal connections which require conservation and the space continiuty and interruptions are defined accordingly. The planning and conservation approaches are evaluated afterwards. It is found that the studies are not in harmony with the historical development and multi-layered formation of the site. There are incongruities between the conserved items and the ones require conservation. The principals and strategies for the conservation of all physical components upon documentation of the historical background of the site, their use for the desing of the future site and integration with current life are improved accordingly.