The town addressed in Paul's letter to the Colossians, in the Lycus valley near Laodicea and Hierapolis. Its mound is confidently identified but, unusually for such a famous name, remains essentially unexcavated — so what we know of its church comes from the letter rather than the ground.
- Where it is
- Western Turkey (near Denizli)
- Scripture
- Colossians 1:2
What the evidence confirmsThe site of Colossae is identified and historically real, one of the Lycus-valley cities of the New Testament.
What it does not proveThe mound is largely undug; the Colossian church's story is known from Paul's letter, not from archaeology.
Sources & further reading