Report_2009

The 2009 Season

The 2009 Team

Preliminary Reports

The campaign lasted for five weeks from June 22 to July 24, 2009.

Participants: Prof. Lars Karlsson (leader of the project), Prof. Pontus Hellström, Ragnar Hedlund, PhD, all from Uppsala University, PhD student Jesper Blid, Stockholm University, PhD student Naomi Carless Unwin, University of London and surveyor student Anna Thieme, Stockholm Technical University. Also participating were architect PhD, Thomas Thieme, Chalmers Technical University, Göteborg, Olivier Henry, PhD from Bordeaux University, France and archaeology students Turgay Duman and Esra Üner, both from Muğla university, Turkey. Representing the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Museums was Uğur Serden from Corum Museum.

This year the excavations were supported with grants from The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, Åke Wibergs Stiftelse, Magn. Bergvalls Stiftelse, Sven och Dagmar Saléns Stiftelse, Gunvor och Josef Anérs Stiftelse, Stiftelsen Harald och Tonny Hagendahls minnesfond, Stefan Lersten and Maggie Dan-Lersten and The Labranda Society, Sweden.

The 2009 campaign has concentrated on three research areas: (1) the forts and fortresses surrounding the sanctuary and along the Sacred Way, (2) the Late Roman and Early Byzantine periods inside the Sanctuary, and (3) the nekropoleis around the sanctuary and along the Sacred Way. The work on the publication of the Hekatomnid monumental dining-halls, Andron A and Andron B, was also continued under the direction of Professor Pontus Hellström and architect Thomas Thieme, who together with surveyor student Anna Thieme participated in this year’s campaign.

The excavations of Labraunda’s forts included this year continued work at the Akropolis Fortress and a new excavation inside the Ucalan Kule tower. At the Akropolis Fortress, three new rooms were uncovered as well as a Hekatomnid well, which was cleared down to a depth of 6.7 m, without reaching the bottom. Several interesting Hekatomnid roof-tiles with stamps came up from the well. In the Ucalan Kule a trench was laid out inside the tower at the partition wall that divided the tower into two rooms. The discovery of a large quantity of roof-tiles confirms a date in the post-Hekatomnid period for the construction of the tower.

In the context of the study of Labraunda in the Late Antique period, the investigations at the Tetraconch were continued from last year. The entire north apse was cleared down to floor level, and the excavation of the central bay was extended towards the east, uncovering one more row of tile pilae, the supports for the suspended floor of the bath. The high-quality Late Roman pottery from last year continued to appear also in these new extensions inside the Tetraconch. An important discovery from the floor is a coin from the age of Constantius II. It can be dated to the period of AD 348-357/8, supporting a date of the entire building to this period.

This year’s excavations of the Labraunda nekropoleis were concentrated on the complete excavation of a large marble chamber tomb of the 4th century B.C. located along the Labraunda Sacred Way, below the village of Kargicak. The tomb was discovered three decades ago by tomb robbers but had never been scientifically studied. The excavation of this delicate tomb, built entirely of marble, took three weeks and upon completion a protective surrounding fence with a gate was erected with an information sign in English and Turkish. Since the tomb had been plundered in Antiquity, only small and broken pieces of the once very rich grave goods could be retrieved. The sections below on the Late Antique investigations and the marble tomb excavations have been written by Jesper Blid and Olivier Henry, respectively.

THE GEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS (Fig. 1)

A very important part of this year’s campaign was an extensive geo-physical survey by Stefan Giese and Christian Hübner from Freiburg, Germany. The investigations were conducted using three different methods: (1) Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), (2) Magnetometry, and (3) Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) (Fig. 2)

The geo-physical surveys were conducted in five different areas. In all of them the German engineers found evidence for structures. The first survey area (Area 1) was also the reason for why the geo-physical project was set up. In this area a very unusual bath building, the Tetraconch, was discovered in 2007 and it was partly excavated last year. The discovery of the Tetraconch illustrated how little we knew about the immediate surroundings of the central sanctuary buildings. Below the Tetraconch there is a vast terrace and the discovery by Jesper Blid of a marble ambo in this area indicated that a church must have stood here. The area will be the subject of an investigation in 2010.

The second-most interesting survey area is the vast platform on the terrace west of the monumental Hekatomnid East Stoa (Area 2, Fig. 3). In the centre of the terrace the investigations indicated a large rectangular building with a square platform on its west side. This structure could very well be a temple with an altar platform.

Survey Area 3 was the largest investigated area. It consisted of the entire northeast sector, located on two terraces north of the East Stoa. The ground-penetrating radar suggested several walls and structures placed in a fan-like arrangement (see Fig. 3), with a section of possible pilae, an indication of a hypocaust. Furthermore, there seems to be a stoa running along the north side of the East Stoa terrace.

Fig. 1

Plan of the sanctuary 2009.

(J. Blid)

Fig. 2

Plan of the sanctuary with the geo-physical investigations inserted.

(GGH)

The fourth area was located south and east of the East Church (Area 4). In this area rooms were found that clearly belong to the unexcavated East Bath. On the platform south of the East Church, a long building with several rooms could be seen, one of which is probably (semi)circular. The East Bath was obviously a very large complex as it spread out on the terrace south of the East Propylon. An investigation was also conducted inside the East Church itself, where walls, rooms and water conduits could be recorded, possibly belonging to the pre-existing Roman East Bath.

Survey Area 5 was located in a part of the nekropolis, south of the Stadion, immediately west of the sanctuary. Thus, the results of the geo-physical investigations are very positive for our overall understanding of the lay-out of the sanctuary and function as an excellent compliment to the archaeological excavations in areas were no excavations will be undertaken in a near future.

THE FORTRESSES

The sanctuary of Labraunda was surrounded by fortresses, and several of them were located along the Sacred Way to Mylasa (Fig. 4). The Labraunda project’s investigations are unique because they attempt, in a systematic way, to apply a total approach to the defence and protection of an ancient site, with accompanying archaeological excavations in each of the towers. The results will not only add important pages to the history and development of the sanctuary of Labraunda, but also to the history of the Karian capital of Mylasa and Karia itself.

The Akropolis Fortress

On the hilltop, 100 m above the sanctuary, there is a fortress with eleven towers built in the best 4th-century B.C. ashlar masonry and there is every reason to believe that it dates to the Hekatomnid period. It was hoped that the archaeology would confirm this. The excavations of 2009 aimed at answering the questions that came up last year. How did last year’s buildings relate to the fortification wall of the former inner fort? Was this Byzantine establishment up here to be considered a small village or a planned military outpost? Is there evidence for Hekatomnid structures/barracks below the Byzantine levels?

Four trenches were laid out on the Akropolis this year (Fig. 5). The first trench, the Southwest Trench, was located so that it connected the 2008 excavation with the inner fortress walls (Figs. 6-9). Very soon, at the level of the Byzantine floor of last year, the excavations registered a floor paved with flat stones, especially near the fortification wall. A large quantity of Byzantine roof tiles, of the type known from last year, was found on this floor. The floor of paving stones was not seen in the inner rooms of last year and must indicate that the function of this room required a more stable floor surface.

Fig. 5

Plan of the inner fort of the Akropolis Fortress with Byzantine structures indicated.

(A. Henry & J. Blid)

It was clear from a brief inspection last year of the outer face of the fortress walls, that the Hekatomnid walls had been restored on a later occasion. This year, the outer face of the walls was cleaned in a more careful way, and it became obvious that most of the visible parts of the walls are Byzantine restorations. The evidence here was clear, the lower part of the Hekatomnid wall was still in situ (Figs. 9-11), but the upper part had been rebuilt. The Southwest Trench cut the fortress walls exactly where the Byzantines had built a small water outlet through the wall. On the inside at the mouth of the outlet, fragments of two Byzantine glass lamps (of the type with conical cups) and several Byzantine glass bracelets were discovered. At the level of the tile fall there were also large amounts of grooved kitchen pots of the typical ‘white ware’, so common in last year’s excavations. This white ware is often blackened by fire, which indicates that these pots were used for cooking. A marble quern stone for the making of olive oil or flour was another find from this trench. Several Byzantine pithos rim and body fragments show that food was also stored in very large containers. People must have lived up here and considering the evidence of the bracelets, suggesting the presence of women, the possibility of a village arises. In these upper Byzantine levels were also found a whetstone for the sharpening of metal tools or weapons and four smooth river stones with an average length of 10 cm and one smaller stone. The stones must have been carried up here, and may have been used as sling stones. The evidence from the Southwest Trench suggests that women lived up here, glass lamps were used and food was prepared, but the restoration of the Hekatomnid fortress walls and the sling stones argue that the establishment up here primarily had a defensive purpose.

Fig. 6

View from west of the excavated area after the completion of the work.

Fig. 7

The Akropolis Fortress. Plan of the excavation area .(L. Karlsson)

Fig. 8

View from the west of the Southwest Trench.

Fig. 9

View of inner face of fortification wall in the Southwest Trench. The projecting lower part is Hekatomnid work. Note the marks for the extraction of blocks in the bottom of the trench and the round cutting for a water jar in the foreground.

The structures that were excavated this year, between the corridor and the fortress walls, were long narrow rooms, each about 2.5 m wide and 3.5 m long. These rectangular rooms stretch from the corridor to the fortress walls. There seem to be no doors between the rectangular rooms but they are only reached from the doors that open up into the corridor (Fig. 7). Thus four rectangular rooms were laid out perpendicular to the line of the walls, and extending back to the corridor. I suggest that these are defensive rooms, possible elongated for the placement of throwing machines of some kind, as seems to be suggested by the substantial floor of paving stones. The rooms are connected at the back to the corridors for the easy approach by the soldiers, and further back are the square rooms for living and sleeping. It seems that this lay-out continues further east along the inner fortress walls.

Fig. 10

Akropolis Fortress, Hekatomnid wall. 14C result suggesting the middle of the 4th century B.C., from the Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Nov. 11, 2008.

Fig. 11

View of Hekatomnid wall in the deep trench of 2008 after this year’s further cleaning. The course of the inner face of the Hekatomnid wall is indicated by the metre stick. Note that the Byzantine wall, with its large door jamb block, is standing on soil.

Did we find any Hekatomnid structures? In the deep trench in the corridor of 2008, a wall set on a ledge cut into the bedrock was discovered (Fig. 10). This was a sign of an early wall. In these lower levels were also discovered 4th-century pottery and charcoal which gave a 14C date of the middle of 4th century B.C. The early wall could be followed in both directions and a perfectly cut well with a diameter of c. 86 cm appeared (Fig. 7:i). The well was excavated down to a depth of 6.7 m without finding the bottom (Fig. 12). The east and west sides of the well had cuts into the gneiss bedrock on both sides, located about 40 cm above each other (Fig. 13). These cuts were steps, making it possible to climb down into the well. The steps were easily used by our crew.

The early wall was S-shaped, apparently to enclose the well inside the structure. This Hekatomnid wall most likely ran down to Tower 11 in the Hekatomnid inner fortress, and thus formed a barrier between the upper platform of the inner fortress, where the Hekatomnid barracks must have stood, and the space immediately inside the fortress walls. A round cutting, immediately south of the well, was probably a hole for a large water pithos (see Figs. 7:l and 9). A similar cutting was found outside the Ucalan tower.

Fig. 12

View into the well, excavated to a depth of 6.7 m.

Fig. 13

View of the steps cut into the side of the well, from the west.

The finds

The clay in the pithos fragments is exactly the same as the clay that was used for the earliest roof-tiles found on the Akropolis. Typical for these roof-tiles is that they have an upper roll, a ‘tile stopper’, which is placed about 3-4 cm below the top of the tile (Figs. 15-16). Over this upper tile stopper should be placed a ledge (also called ‘tile stopper’) projecting on the underside of the tile above (Fig. 16). The same type of tile stopper on the underside can be seen on the marble roof-tiles of the Hekatomnid Temple of Zeus at Labraunda.

In the trench around the Hekatomnid wall, were discovered several 4th-century finds, e.g. four fragments of a large pithos with horizontal bands across the body of the vessel. This pithos type is one of the more interesting finds of the last years’ fortification excavations (Fig. 14). Fragments from the same type of pithos with bands have been discovered at Burgaz Kale, at Ucalan Kule, and not less than seven broken body fragments and a rim were taken up from the Akropolis well. The fact that they were found in and around the well suggests that this pithos type was a water jar, and it is likely that it served the same function at the forts of Burgaz and Ucalan.

Fig. 14

A Hekatomnid tile fragment with Greek graffito:

[…]XOΠYPH

The most interesting find from the Akropolis Fortress this year were the three pan-tile fragments with a rectangular stamp pressed into the clay (Figs. 17-18). They were all discovered in the well, and one of them was found at a depth of 6.7 m, where there is nothing later than the 3rd century B.C. The motif seems to be a double axe, standing on a three-pronged object. If this three-pronged object is meant to be a trident, the motif resembles the common combination of the double axe and the trident on the late 4th century and Hellenistic coins of Mylasa.

Fig. 15

Hekatomnid pan-tile with roll (AKW09-11).

Fig. 16

Drawing of Hekatomnid pan-tile with roll, ‘tile stopper’ at the top (AKW09-11).

(L. Karlsson)

An unusual find this year was a terracotta object, which we believe is the foot of a lamp or incense stand (Fig. 19). It consists of a part of a ring decorated with a vine scroll which is connected to a foot, clearly identifiable by its large lion paw. The leg of the foot is decorated with a female mythological figure, probably a sphinx, whose wings are thrown back, just like the Nike from Samothrace,

Fig. 17

Pan-tile with stamp from the well (AKW09-7).

Fig. 18

Drawing of stamp.

(Alicja Grenberger)

In the Byzantine levels, there were several fragments of the typical Byzantine glazed bowl, similar to examples found last year. The decoration of the interior consists of fairly thin incised lines painted brown, above which there are painted motifs primarily in green. The bowl AK09-1 belongs to the group called ‘painted fine scraffito ware’ and is dated to the middle and the second half of the 12th century, while bowl AK09-2 seems to be related to the Pergamene group with green glaze. The third bowl AK09-3 has a sophisticated rim profile which suggests that it belongs to the group of “Green and orange-stained pottery”, dated by Spieser and Böhlendorf-Aslan to the second half of the 13th century (Fig. 20).

Fig. 19

Fragment of lamp foot from the East Trench .(AK09-28)

Fig. 20

Middle Byzantine glazed bowl from the Southwest Trench (AK09-3).

Ucalan Kule

About 800 m west of the sanctuary there is a watchtower placed on top of a very prominent gneiss outcropping. There is a superb view over the sanctuary from this place and the view up towards the Akropolis Fortress is also excellent. The large rectangular tower is placed directly on the slightly curved gneiss boulder (Fig. 21). The tower is somewhat asymmetrical: the north side measures 6.9 m, the south side 7.1 m, while the west side measures 9.1 m and the east side 8.85 m (Fig. 22). The wall width is 0.65 m. The interior is divided into two rooms measuring 5.6 x 3.5 m (north) 5.8 x 3.65 m (south). There is a partition wall between the rooms with a door opening having a width of 1.3 m (Fig. 23). The masonry of the tower consists of large blocks and boulders, which are not regular ashlar blocks. This masonry is very different from the perfectly cut ashlar blocks in the Akropolis Fortress, the Burgaz Kale and the Tepesar Kale. Larger blocks are used on the exterior, but the interior walls employ smaller blocks, neatly laid together with small rocks in the interstices.

The finds

A large quantity of roof-tiles of the highest quality, including both pan-tiles and cover-tiles, imbrices, were still lying in the position in which they fell. Very few imbrices were discovered in the Akropolis Fortress, so the large number of imbrices from Ucalan were surprising. All of them are of the pitched-roof type (Fig. 24). Most of them have a roll running down the two upper slopes of the tile (Fig. 25).

The pan-tiles are of a more developed type compared to the Hekatomnid tiles from the Akropolis Fortress. A major difference is the upper tile stopper. The Ucalan pan-tiles have lost the separate roll, which instead has been incorporated into a larger upper flange that is highest towards the inside and continuously sloping towards the top.

The Ucalan tiles are also made of an orange clay that is different from the brown-red Hekatomnid examples from the Akropolis Fortress. These facts and the more irregular masonry of the tower itself argue for a post-Hekatomnid date for the Ucalan tower. There does not seem to be any later repair pieces among the roof-tiles, and there is definitively nothing Roman or Byzantine in the tower, which indicates that it went out of use in the early second century B.C., at the latest.

Fig. 21

View of the tower at Ucalan Kule from the north.

Fig. 22

Plan of the Ucalan tower.

(L. Karlsson)

Fig. 23

The excavation trench in the north room with the partition wall to the left.

Fig. 24

Well-preserved imbrex fragments from Ucalan tower.

Fig. 25

Drawing of imbrex (UC09-5).

(L. Karlsson)

RESEARCH ON LABRAUNDA IN LATE ANTIQUITY (by Jesper Blid)

Extended excavations in the Tetraconch bath

During 2009, the project »Labraunda in Late Antiquity« has undertaken a complementary excavation to last year’s work inside the Tetraconch, as well as a new archaeological investigation at the so-called ‘West Church’. Both buildings are situated in Area Z, in the south-western part of Labraunda (see Fig. 1). Initially, work was conducted at the Tetraconch, where last year’s excavations inside the central bay of this building revealed a hypocaust floor and channels for hot air built into its walls. It became apparent that the Tetraconch was a part of a small bath complex; most probably connected to a Late-Roman residence.

The excavation was started in the northern apse, where three different strata were recorded. Already in 2008, a square hearth had been found c. 50 cm above the floor level. It was built with roof tiles, set on edge. No objects were found in this stratum and it was therefore difficult to date. However, a 14C test on charcoal, found in the hearth, dated it to the second half of the 6th century, much earlier than we expected. We could also relate the remains of an irregular-built floor to the hearth with greater certainty. This whitish floor consisted of some sort of lime mortar; samples of this mortar are currently being prepared for an analysis of its content. The construction of the floor seems to be provisory since it is very irregular, and lacks a foundation. It is set instead directly upon two earlier collapsed floors from different periods. The c. 40 cm-deep stratum below the hearth and the lime-mortar floor, Stratum 5, is the second building phase and correlates with last year’s excavation of the same level in the central bay. This stratum consists mainly of a greyish ash layer filled with dumped fragments of broken pottery, marble revetments, cornice mouldings and small metal objects, such as hooks for fixing the revetments to the walls. The fragments of cornice mouldings have a circular curvature, and the calculated diameter equals the diameter of the apse; it is thus plausible that they were originally situated on the walls of the Tetraconch during its earliest phase. The large quantity of these cornice mouldings may further strengthen this hypothesis. However, both the pottery and the marble revetments are very fragmentary and are more likely to have been taken from a dump before being brought to the Tetraconch. It became obvious last year that the hypocaust had been filled up with discarded material during a second building phase. This material all seems to date to the 5th century, and mainly from the second half of this century. This led us to the conclusion that the floor was rebuilt in this period. In addition, the material found in the northern apse in 2009 is characteristic of the 5th century. Among the fine wares are bowls and plates of African Red Slip Ware (Fig. 26) and Phocaean Red Slip Ware (Fig. 27), while the coarse wares were similar to last year’s finds.

Since the hypocaust was filled with waste it was evidently taken out of use. The extended trenches of the northern apse, and in the central bay, also confirm that there are no water pipes in situ. Many broken fragments were however found in the filling of the hypocaust and a terracotta pipe had also been reused as a pila for the second suspensura by the south-eastern pier of the central bay. Thus, it does not seem likely that the Tetraconch was used as a bath during the second phase, i.e. after the late 5th century. The second suspensura was constructed of two bricks piled upon each other and covered by a layer of cocciopesto. However, it had not always been so, and in the trench section of the northern apse we could clearly discern debris of bricks and cocciopesto from the second phase below the lime mortar floor of the third phase. Below this layer was yet another, but this consisted of cut paving slabs of local granite. These slabs were similar to those in situ along the western side of the central bay (Fig. 28). The position of the slabs, along with their number indicates that the original suspensura consisted of stone slabs situated upon circular pilae and rectangular piers of terracotta. Some of these slabs were evidently left in the filling at the time of the second reshaping of the edifice.

The last 10 cm above the bottom floor consist of a dark and moist layer of soil without any finds of pottery. This layer, Stratum 6, was recorded last year in the central bay but totally lacked any finds. This layer also exists in the northern apse, and here, too, there is an absence of objects. Furthermore, Stratum 6 does not show any traces of the ash that is characteristic for Stratum 5. Our conclusion is that this layer must have been in place before the construction of the second building phase. Below this thin layer, there is a floor paved with broken tiles (Fig. 29). It is set with cocciopesto directly on the bedrock, which is also visible in the lower course of the northern apse wall.

Fig. 26

Bowl of African Red Slip Ware.

(J. Blid)

Fig. 27

Dish of Phocaean Red Slip Ware.

(J. Blid)

A building trench was evidently prepared for the building by cutting it directly into the bedrock to about 65 cm in depth. At the bottom of the building trench a circular and shallow channel was cut, most likely to carry off water from the bedrock wall (Fig. 30).

As mentioned above, we also extended the trench in the central bay towards the east. Stratum 5 exhibited pottery, exclusively 5th-century material, along with a bronze ring of unknown date (Fig. 31). The engraving shows a creature standing between what looks like two trees. The body has the shape of a horse while the head appears to be that of a man with a pointy feature, possibly a beard. If this interpretation is correct the depicted creature might be a centaur, perhaps a motif inspired by ancient mythology.

During the extended excavation of the central bay a coin was found in Stratum 6. It is a bronze coin of the denomination usually referred to as AE3; its Roman name is not known. It can be dated to the age of Constantius II and is identified as a coin of the type which features the legend FEL TEMP REPARATIO. Coins of this type were struck throughout the empire and are assumed to have been produced between AD 348 and AD 357/58. This coin is at the moment the terminus ante quem for the building, but since it was found on the bottom floor it cannot be considered as definite. A few fragments of charcoal were also found close to the coin, and a 14C test will be conducted.

Fig. 28

View from the east of the western section of the hypocaust and suspensura of the central bay.

Fig. 29

The Tetraconch, Stratum 6 with the bottom floor. (J. Blid)

This year’s extended excavation in the Tetraconch has added to our knowledge about the building’s chronology and function. It is suggested that the original Tetraconch floor dates from the first half or mid-4th century. Alterations were made in the late 5th century, and the structure’s function changed as it ceased to be used as a bath. Whatever the new function might have been it cannot have been used for longer than approximately 75 years. At the later part of the 6th century the floor of the northern apse was rebuilt again with an irregular lime-mortar floor and a large hearth centered in the apse. By this time all remains of the second phase were removed. Since Stratum 4 completely lacks pottery and other small finds it seems likely that it had a non-domestic function; perhaps as a lime kiln. Above the hearth was about 1 m of soil before the next »ceramic layer«, which contains glazed pottery from the late twelfth, or early thirteenth, century. Even if the Tetraconch was not in constant use, it seems that sporadic activities took place here for about one millennium before the superstructure of the central bay finally collapsed.

Fig. 30

View over the pilae and rock-cut channel in the northern apse.

Fig. 31

Bronze ring with engraved centaur (?).

Fig. 3

Plan of the eastern area of the sanctuary with walls indicated by the geo-physical survey.

(GGH)

Fig. 4

Map of the Sacred Way with the forts and the Marble Tomb marked.

(J. Blid)

Archaeological investigations at the ‘West Church’

The second project this year was to follow up the geo-physical investigation undertaken in Area Z (see also Fig. 2, Area 1). Especially interesting was the southeastern area where we found four fragments of a marble ambo in 2007. This type of ambo is typical for Karia and southern Ionia. The fragments had been reused in a post-antique terrace wall, but the large dimensions of the fragments led us to believe that they originated from a church near to the find-spot. Another indication of this was this year’s discovery of a marble block with two rows of arcades cut in relief on two sides. The block has a molding very characteristic of door posts on one short side, while the well-preserved reliefs appear to have been cut secondarily onto the block. Furthermore, the reliefs and the molding do not fit together if the block would have been used as a doorpost, in which case at least one side of the relief was hidden against the back wall. Thus, the function of the block must have changed over time. This new function is not certain but it appears stylistically to be Late Antique. The discovery of this block led us again to suspect the presence of a Late-Antique structure in the surrounding area.

In conclusion, the building complex in the southeastern part of Area Z is at the moment called the West Church, due to the finds of Christian liturgical furniture at this site a few years ago. Furthermore, the building has what appears to be several Late Antique or medieval building phases, which is also attested by fragments of Late-Antique pottery and a decorated marble block. However, except for the ambo found in 2007, there is at present no certain evidence with which to definitely identify this building as a church. For now it is our hypothesis, based on a few indications. The excavation of this area will continue during 2010, and will possibly shed further light on this previously unstudied area of Labraunda. In a more contextual perspective one can with certainty claim that Area Z was a place of much activity during Late Antiquity. Here, just above the ancient Sacred Way leading to Mylasa, stood perhaps both a church and a residence (to which the Tetraconch belonged). The vast 5th-century material found in the Tetraconch shows that Labraunda still had important economic connections with trading centra below the mountain, evidenced by the presence of imported goods from both northern Africa and distant parts of Anatolia. The situation of a possible ‘West Church’ on this plateau, prominently placed just before reaching the ancient sanctuary, is also appealing in terms of markers of space, often so typical of the ancient notion of architectural planning.

The geo-physical survey did in fact confirm the existence of a building, measuring approximately 30 x10 m, oriented along a west-east axis. Showing a depth of 1 m, the most diagnostic part of the structure is what seems to be a small multi-apsed building, possibly a triconch, at the southeastern corner of the complex. A test trench was laid out here to investigate this part of the structure and its surroundings (Fig. 32). The trench was taken down to a total depth of 50 cm. A few pieces of the excavated pottery were diagnostic, but a rim-fragment from a small plate of Phocaean Red Slip Ware was recorded, dating to the 6th century.

Fig. 32

Stone plan of the ‘West Church’.

(J. Blid)

THE EXCAVATION OF THE MARBLE CHAMBER TOMB (by Olivier Henry)

The outer platform

We started the investigation with a general cleaning of the surroundings of the tomb. This cleaning revealed, 20 cm below topsoil, that a large structure of schist blocks covered the subterranean tomb. Once entirely exposed, it appeared that this construction formed a large rectangular platform oriented north-south (Fig. 34). Although this platform has been disturbed and partly destroyed by illegal excavations, its general appearance could still be ascertained. Its overall dimensions are c. 9 x 8 m. While its northern edge is aligned with the façade of the subterranean construction, the platform clearly overlaps the total surface of the tomb itself (4.94 x 3.01 m) to the south, east and west. It was exclusively made of roughly cut schist blocks of varying sizes. Most of the large blocks (measuring up to 1.9 m in length, 1.1 m in width and 0.2 m in thickness) had been placed along the edges, at the corners and on the top of the platform, covering the core of the structure itself (Fig. 35).

The so-called ‘Marble Tomb’ is situated at the top of a low hill, a few meters on the east side and above the Sacred Way leading from Milas to Labraunda (Figs. 4 and 33). It was discovered in the 1960s, according to the inhabitants of the nearby village of Kargicak. It was inventoried and recorded on the Labraunda nekropolis map in 2005. The tomb robbers probably used dynamite in order to penetrate into the chamber, which resulted in the partial destruction of the external structure of the tomb and created a large hole in the northwest corner of the ceiling of the chamber. Moreover, it seems that, since its first opening, the tomb has been regularly visited by looters who not only drew graffiti on the chamber walls (see Fig 41), but also partly destroyed the marble panels of the sarcophagi, as well as the slabs of the marble floor.

Before we started our work, the structure was entirely covered by a layer of earth. The only sign of the existence of the tomb was a small depression at the top of the hill and a tomb robber’s hole that allowed entrance into the chamber (see Fig. 33). Two-thirds of the chamber was filled with soil. The upper part of a doorway in its northern wall was visible but the rubble inside was so high that it prevented observation of anything else inside the tomb.

Fig. 33

The top of the hill before excavation.

The subterranean tomb

The façade (Fig. 36)

Fig. 34

General view of the platform after excavation.

Fig. 35

Plan of the platform.

(O. Henry)

The façade of the subterranean tomb is composed of only eight blocks: the threshold framed by two blocks carrying both jambs of the doorway, a monolithic lintel and two crowning blocks. We extended the excavation towards the left side of the doorway and, instead of a clean corner wall face, we discovered that the eastern edge of the façade was built with unaligned blocks. This design clearly indicates that only a part of the elevation of the façade, not larger than the side jambs, was intended to be seen. This seems to correspond to a rectangular ‘ditch’, probably an access ramp, excavated in front of the door. This ditch/access ramp was dug into the reddish soil and seems to have been later filled with black earth containing two large marble blocks and a lot of pottery fragments. The bottom of the ditch/access ramp slopes towards the door and reaches a few centimeters below the top of the threshold. These observations suggest that this ditch/access ramp gave access to the door of the tomb by means of an approximately 1.6 m-wide ramp, leading from the surface of the surrounding soil down to the doorway.

The doorway is, at present, still closed by a large monolithic block.

Fig. 36

The entrance façade of the subterranean tomb with door block in situ.

Entrance and vestibule (Fig. 37)

Once the subterranean tomb chambers were emptied and cleaned, it was possible to draw the plan of the tomb. It is oriented north-south, including a main entrance (at the north), followed by a vestibule and a main chamber (Fig. 38).

The vestibule is 1.82 m long. The sidewalls measuring 2.1 m in height lean slightly inward. The ceiling and floor are composed of three slabs.

The doorway leading from the vestibule to the main chamber is 1.75 m high and 0.72 m deep. Just like the main entrance of the tomb, it tapers slightly. No door or even fragment of a door could be retrieved during the excavation. Nonetheless, evidence indicates that this access was closed by a double-leaf door, pivoting toward the main chamber (Fig. 39).

Fig. 37

The vestibule of the tomb, seen from the main chamber.

Fig. 38

Plan of the subterranean tomb.

(O. Henry)

Fig. 39

The threshold block for the doorway between the vestibule and the main chamber, seen from the chamber.

The main chamber

The doorway opens onto a rectangular main chamber, which measures 3.01 m in width by 2.07 m in length and is 2.7 m high. The room is slightly off-centre, placed a little to the east. It contains two built sarcophagi along the sidewalls. The eastern sarcophagus is wider than the western one.

The damage caused by tomb robbers is particularly visible in this chamber: the eastern sarcophagus is almost completely destroyed, while the vertical slab of the western sarcophagus has been smashed and only its southern extremity is preserved. The floor of the chamber also suffered from illegal excavations as only three of the original four slabs are still in situ (Fig. 40).

One of the ashlar blocks of the back wall of the chamber has also been destroyed, revealing the surprising presence of a second, outer, wall made of large schist blocks.

The ceiling of the chamber is made of two monolithic beams, oriented north-south, supporting three 35 cm-thick flagstones (Fig. 41). The beams, regularly placed, rest on a projecting cornice running atop the four walls. The top row of the walls, above the cornice and the sides of the beams are carved with two fasciae crowned by a second cornice (Fig. 42).

Fig. 40

The main chamber seen from the vestibule.

Fig. 41

The beams of the ceiling in the chamber.

Fig. 42

Transversal section of the chamber.

(O. Henry)

Building technique and material

The whole subterranean structure, from floor to ceiling has been built in a white and grey marble. A thin orange layer, caused by water running in from the outside and carrying the reddish earth that contains metallic particles, now covers the walls of the chamber and vestibule. Nonetheless, the original colour of the marble can still be seen on the soffit of the ceiling flagstones.

The walls are pseudo-isodomic.

In several places one could observe the use of two different types of metallic bindings composed of a bronze core covered by lead. Horizontal pi-shaped clamps were utilized between the blocks of the walls, while rectangular prism dowels were used between the thresholds and the vertical jambs of both doorways. Some of these dowels exhibit an unusual shape, not only because they were placed at the edge of the blocks, but also because the upper and lower parts of the clamp holes are not lined up.

Finally, we noticed the unusual solution used by the builder of the tomb at the corners of the epikranitis of the chamber walls, a feature which also appears in the marble window frames of Andron A in Labraunda.

Finds

Pottery and tiles

The amount of material retrieved from the tomb itself and its immediate surrounding was impressive. Although no complete piece could be collected, it nonetheless revealed the wealth of the grave goods and the many reuses of the tomb.

Most of the pottery was found in the immediate surroundings of the tomb. The material dates from the middle of the 4th century B.C. to the Middle Byzantine period. Most of it is composed of amphora pieces and large roof-tiles fragments. Among the best-preserved finds is part of a Roman volute lamp with triangular nozzle (MT09-3), dated in the period between the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D.

The space immediately in front of the façade had escaped illegal excavations. It revealed the presence of a deep access ramp filled up with a homogenous level of black soil mixed with high-quality pottery fragments dating from the 4th century B.C. to the 3rd-4th century A.D. The best samples are a piece of a 4th-century Attic black-gloss krater base from a Maussollan context (MT09-6, Fig. 43); a fragment of the neck of a red-figure hydria containing a panel with an egg pattern (MT09-7, Fig. 44), dated to the first half of the 4th century B.C.; a small piece of a Megarian bowl (MT09-5) of the ‘Delian type’ with a meander motif, dated between c. 150 and 50 B.C.; many fragments of very fine red-slip ware, dating from the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D. (MT09-8) and a sherd of a green-glazed Middle Byzantine bowl (MT09-2).

From the vestibule we retrieved a number of ceramic fragments from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine period. Among them are pieces from a Hellenistic unguentarium with flat bottom (MT09-9); a Roman cooking pot (MT09-10), and a ring-foot of a Byzantine cooking vessel (MT09-11).

Compared to the other excavated areas, the main chamber produced a relatively small amount of material, dating from the Early Hellenistic (only one sample) to the Middle Byzantine periods. It includes the bottom of a 4th century B.C. local black-gloss bowl (MT09-17), a 3rd century B.C. fragment of a jar rim (MT09-16, Fig. 45), a handle of a late antique amphora (MT09-18) and many fragments of green-glazed Middle Byzantine pots.

Bones

Many bones were found both in the vestibule and in the chamber of the tomb. Although it seems that most of these bones belong to animals that might have fallen through the hole in the ceiling and been trapped in the tomb, they have been brought back to Sweden for analysis by osteologist Anne Ingvarsson-Sundström.

Egg-shaped material

The excavation of the Marble Tomb increased significantly the number of egg-shaped objects discovered in the Labraunda necropolis, with five new specimens (Fig. 46).

Fig. 43

Ring-foot of a Late Classical red-figure krater (MT09-6).

(O. Henry)

Fig. 44

A piece of a Late Classical red-figure hydria with an ovolo painting (MT09-7).

Fig. 45

Hellenistic jar-rim fragment (MT09-16).

(O. Henry)

Fig. 46

Two egg-shaped terracottas from the vestibule of the tomb (MT09-15).

Conclusion

The Marble Tomb of Labraunda seems to have had a long history. It was first built some time in the middle of the 4th century B.C. and was then reused for centuries. We cannot clearly estimate the date of its last reuse. Nonetheless, the presence of late Roman pottery fragments in the filling of the access ramp leading to the replaced door of the tomb gives us a terminus post quem around the 3rd-4th centuries A.D. It is possible that the Byzantine material found outside, on the platform, as well as in the vestibule and in the chamber of the tomb, corresponds to the last reuse of the tomb for burials. In such case the marble tomb would have been in use for almost ten centuries, from the Late Classical to the Middle Byzantine period.

Fig. 47

The new fence protecting the Marble Tomb.

We could not find a satisfying explanation for the very large size of the outer platform. One of its obvious purposes seems to have been to protect the subterranean structure, but its unusual dimensions, which outsize the surface of the subterranean building, could also indicate that it was related to some cultic activities performed on the top of the tomb. Since we lack the upper part, it is difficult to know whether this platform carried a superstructure, or even if it was visible at all. Nonetheless, subterranean chamber tombs with a superstructure are not unknown in Karia and the same configuration might be found in the region. In any case, it confirms, together with the finds retrieved from the tombs in 2008, the wealth and probable aristocratic status of the individuals buried around Labraunda and along the Sacred Way, leading from Mylasa to the sanctuary of Zeus Labraundos. In order to protect this major marble chamber tomb from further depredation, the entire structure was surrounded with a high fence with an information sign in English and Turkish (Fig. 47).

Prof. Dr. Lars Karlsson

Department of Archaeology and Ancient History

Uppsala University