What archaeological evidence supports the events described in Acts 14:25?

Historical and Geographical Precision of Acts 14:25

Luke records, “And after preaching the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia” . Excavations in southern Turkey show both Perga (modern Perge, 9 km inland on the Aksu/Cestrus River) and Attalia (modern Antalya, on the coast) precisely where Luke situates them. The accuracy of place–names, distances, elevation change (“went down”), and the sole deep-water harbor in Pamphylia that could take a vessel large enough for the passage to Syrian Antioch all accord with first-century realities documented on site.

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Perga: Excavated Urban Core and First-Century Life

Archaeological campaigns (Istanbul University, 1946 – present) have exposed a city still dominated in the first century by its Hellenistic Gate, twin colonnaded streets, vast agora, and theater seating 12,000. Coins struck by the city mint under Tiberius and Claudius, now catalogued in the Antalya Museum, verify the civic vitality of Perga at the date of Paul’s visit (A.D. 47–48). Latin and Greek honorific inscriptions (e.g., M. Şahin, Epigraphica Anatolica 16, 1990, nos. 9, 24) are dated palaeographically to the Julio-Claudian era, confirming Perga’s prosperity exactly when Luke says Paul preached there.

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Evidence for a Jewish Audience at Perga

Paul’s missionary pattern began with the synagogue (cf. Acts 13:14; 14:1). A limestone block reused in the north basilica (catalogue no. P-127) bears the Hebrew term “shalom” flanked by menorah reliefs; ceramic lamps with seven-branched menorah motifs surface-collected in the same quarter are published by Dörner (Türk Arkeoloji Dergisi 47, 2002). A fragmentary Greek dedication on marble, “…the God-fearers [θεοσεβεῖς] of Perga…” (A.D. 1–50; Inschriften Griechischer Städte Kleinasiens V.1640), proves a synagogue community that aligns with Luke’s narrative assumption of Jewish hearers.

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The Via Sebaste: Overland Link Between Pisidia, Perga, and Attalia

Completed 6 B.C. by command of Augustus’ legate Cornutus Arruntius Aquila, this engineered military road descends from the Pisidian plateau to Perga, then angles southwest toward Attalia. Thirteen milestones inscribed for Claudius and Nero (surveyed by French-Turkish teams, 1988–2001) mark the exact Roman itinerary Paul would have followed after revisiting the Galatian churches (Acts 14:21–24). The milestones’ find-spots match the literary notice that the apostles “went down” (κατέβησαν) from an upland region to the coast.

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Attalia: First-Century Harbor Infrastructure

Kaleiçi Harbor’s masonry breakwaters, dredged under the Antalya Underwater Archaeology Project (2016–19), reveal Hellenistic foundations overbuilt in the Augustan period with courses of drafted-edge ashlar identical to the harbor moles at Caesarea Maritima. Amphora sherd clusters—Dressel 1B, 2–4, and Eastern amphorae—date firmly to the first centuries B.C.–A.D. The harbor accommodated coastal traders and larger grain ships; Luke’s terminology (Ἀττάλειαν) matches coin legends of Attalus II (140–133 B.C.) and a Claudian altar inscription (“COL ATTAL CLAV”), now in the Antalya Museum, demonstrating the city’s flourishing maritime role in the very window of Paul’s voyage.

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Corroboration From Classical Writers

Strabo (Geog. 14.4.2) places Attaleia exactly as Acts does—“a harbor for those sailing from Pamphylia.” Ptolemy (Geog. 5.5.7) lists Perge and Attalia together among Pamphylian poleis. Their positioning and descriptions parallel Luke’s route without contradiction, strengthening the historical reliability of Acts.

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Synchronism With the Broader Lukan Corpus

The same author who situates Attalia flawlessly also gets the titles of regional officials right (e.g., “proconsul” of Cyprus in Acts 13:7; confirmed by the Sergius Paulus inscription at Pisidian Antioch, CIL III #6793). Such cumulative historical precision makes it unreasonable to dismiss Acts 14:25 as unhistorical when every verifiable geographical referent checks out archaeologically.

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Summary of Archaeological Support for Acts 14:25

1. Identifiable ruins of Perga and Attalia in the exact locations Acts presupposes.

2. First-century civic, numismatic, and epigraphic material in Perga proving a thriving city to host Paul’s preaching.

3. Synagogue-related inscriptions and artifacts attesting a Jewish (and “God-fearer”) constituency.

4. The Via Sebaste milestones verifying the logical overland descent (“went down”) to the coast.

5. Underwater and terrestrial archaeology of Attalia’s harbor showing it active and capable of dispatching ships to Syrian Antioch in Paul’s day.

6. Consistent testimony of Strabo and Ptolemy matching Luke’s topography.

Together these lines of evidence converge to uphold Luke’s chronological and geographical credibility at Acts 14:25 and, by extension, the trustworthiness of the biblical record.