The ancient city of Elaiussa Sebaste (today Ayaş) lies on the south-eastern coast of Turkey. The birth and the development of the settlement were granted by the favourable geographical position of the city, situated along the important coastal road connecting Asia Minör to Syria and projected in the intense commercial traffic of the eastern Mediterranean and, secondly, to the abundant natural resources of the hinterland - timber from the Tauro forests, vineyards and olive trees (elaion) to which the name Elaiussa itself alludes.
The site was, during the Roman age, one of the most important cities of the Roman province of Cilicia, which developed considerably in the 2nd and 3rd century AD; it maintained its prestigious role as significant trading port until the Late Empire and the first Byzantine age. Thanks to its long and continuous life, Elaiussa can be indeed qualified as a remarkable case study for the deepening of historical and archaeological knowledge on the dynamics of the development and evolution of urban centres in the Eastern Mediterranean area.