Recent Excavations at the Altar of in Author(s): Anton Bammer Source: Archaeology, Vol. 27, No. 3 (July, 1974), pp. 202-205 Published by: Archaeological Institute of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41685561 . Accessed: 09/05/2014 17:31

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This content downloaded from 128.95.104.66 on Fri, 9 May 2014 17:31:56 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions sus in themiddle of thesixth century b.c. Croesusdestroyed the city but left the sanctuaryuntouched; he evendo- natedseveral sculptured column drums to thetemple. This temple burned down sometwo centuries later and was re- placedby theelaborate fourth-century constructionwhich was destinedto be calledone of the . Fromthe very beginning of the ar- chaeologicalquest, investigators were searchingfor the altarof the temple. , the Greek geographer, recorded thatthe altar associated with the fourth- centurystructure was filled with statues by ,a statement which made the Austrianexcavators particularly eagerto findit. Butnot until* 1965 did a deep trenchdug on thewest side of the templebring to lightsome of the foundationsthat belonged to the clas- sical altar.In the courseof further investigations,additional information emergedabout the earlier Archaic altar and eventhe earlystructures beneath it; butwith each newfind, new prob- lemsalso arose,and veryrecent exca- vationshave both illuminatedthese problemsand posed fresh,intriguing dilemmas. Excavationsat theAltar of Artemis at Ephesusin 1973. Situatedremarkably close to thesea's ancientshoreline, there is a fresh-water springwhich seems to have servedas a sacrificialplace, possibly as earlyas Recent Excavations at the the tenthcentury b.c. whenthe area was invadedby seafaringGreeks. This site's to theseashore ex- Altar of Artemis in proximity may Ephesus plainwhy the Greeks chose it. In any event,there are also remainsof an One of themajor cities of theancient have uncoveredvast portionsof the ancientroad which leads to thespring, Mediterraneanworld, Ephesus is situ- Hellenisticand Romancity and have andthere are indications that a seventh- ated on the westerncoast of , madesome important discoveries in the centurycult was locatedby it. Around nearthe modern village of Kushadasi. Sanctuaryof Artemis,otherwise known themiddle of theseventh century, the ExtensiveHellenistic and Romanre- as the Artemision.It is on theirmost Ephesiansbuilt a small naiskos,or mainsgive testimonyto the greatness recentexcavations that I makethis re- shrine,on thisroad, and in thecourse whichthe city once enjoyed; among the port. ofour excavations we found the charred ruins,one finds today the scant remains The bulkof the Austrian work at the bonesof animalsburnt for sacrifice to- of theTemple of Artemis,a structuretemple site followed that of an English- getherwith small votives and pottery datingfrom the fourth century b.c. It man namedG. D. Hogarth,who ex- sherds.The sherdsincluded examples of rankedamong the sevenwonders that ploredthe templeduring 1904 and theorientalizing and Corinthianstyles, were famousthroughout the pagan 1905.Hogarth had to laborunder ex- and amongthe votiveswas a bronze world. tremelydifficult conditions; the building griffinsimilar to thosefrom Olympos, The historyof the templeis a very was belowthe level of thewater table, Miletosand Samos,sites where complexmatter. Excavations at Ephesus and he was forcedto use pumpscon- wereused as protomeson largebronze beganin 1869 underthe directionof stantly.Despite such circumstances, he vessels. an Englishman,John Turtle Wood, successfullyunraveled several of the We also uncoveredseveral ivories. whoconducted his fieldwork there until temple'sconstruction periods. Under the One,the lower part of a female,may be 1874.Wood succeeded in locatingthe pavementof the Archaictemple he a fragmentfrom a statuetteof a temple,which was completelyburied, foundsome enigmatic remains from the priestessor a goddess,for it has paral- and morethan twenty years later in seventhcentury b.c. It washe, in fact, lelswith several statuettes discovered by 1895,the AustrianArchaeological In- whoidentified the Archaic or so-called Hogarth.Another is an ivoryram with stitutetook up wherehe leftoff. Ar- ""temple, an impressivemonu- a cross-likeincision, which was probably chaeologistsfrom the Austrian Institute mentalconstruction which, according to once attachedto somelarger object; have workedat the siteintermittently historians, was left unfinished when the indeed,it mayhave served originally as fromthen until the present time. They LydianKing Croesus conquered Ephe- inlayon a thronetogether with several

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This content downloaded from 128.95.104.66 on Fri, 9 May 2014 17:31:56 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Earlystructures in the Artemis Sanctuary. Archaicbronze .

Ivoryram which may have once decorated a throne.

piecesof furnituredecoration. Addi- tionalfinds include a faiencehawk and twopolychrome terracottas, one a orien- tal-typehead and theother a Daedalic statuette. The mostpuzzling of thefinds from thisparticular vicinity is a groupof transparentcrystals, whose concave sur- faceproduces a reducingeffect, that is a diminishedimage of the kind one sees in the bowlof a spoon.These rock- crystal"lenses," as we mightcall them, havecounterparts on Thasos, Paros and Samos,where they have been identified as pedestalsfor alabastra or oil jars.In Head of myopinion, their transparency and im- terracotta age-reducingcapacity strongly suggest statuette. thatthey were used as opticalinstru- ments;moreover, since they,like all theseother objects, seem to have had Daedalicstatuette. Rockcrystal. considerablevalue, it mightbe reasona-

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This content downloaded from 128.95.104.66 on Fri, 9 May 2014 17:31:56 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Reconstructionofclassical temple and altar.

ble to interpretthem as giftsoffered to thegoddess. The close relationshipbetween the artifactswe foundand the material secondbase duringsacrificial ceremon- Hogarthfound within the temple area ies; the priestwould then approach itself,which is removedfrom the shore- witha processionfrom the north which line,raises several questions about the led himdown the ramp to thehearth. natureof the cult.Did twooffer- tar area. One of thereliefs was found early Here he wouldmake the sacrificein in 1900 near the on it was ing placesexist within one sanctuary? theatre; viewof thestatue, which, for this oc- carvedthe figure of an Amazon.Then, Or werethere two distinct sanctuaries, casion, had been brought especially from different just two yearsago in 1972,we un- eachused for the worship of a thetemple. The earthenfloor is large It is difficultto butthe eartheda femalehead whichprobably deity? say, orig- enoughthat a greatmany people could came fromthis same frieze.Ionic inal inhabitantsmay well have wor- havetaken part in theceremony. columnsstood on topof thefrieze and shippedtheir nature goddess in a loca- Several remarkablechanges were tion fromthe one the Greeks completelysurrounded the screen wall. separate made in the appearanceof thisaltar Thiselaborate whichrose to selectedfor the practiceof theircult. monument, duringthe first half of the fifth century a heightof 10 was to influence If so, the archaeologicalremains may in meters, b.c. A screenwall, U-shaped plan, the designof twoiater famous altars, givetestimony to the beginningstages was builtto enclosethe altararea. It of the Hellenizationof the Asiatic theAltar of Zeus at Pergamonand the blockedthe view from the temple and AraPacis in Rome. mothergoddess and to a timewhen the therebyprobably shielded the ceremony two existed The only Hellenisticremnant we goddesses independently.from the gaze ofthe regular populace. foundassociated with the altaris the Their assimilationmust have been a Onlyprivileged men, it seems, could now for laterare we head of a horse,perhaps from a quad- gradualprocess, only participatein the sacrifice,a situation Thereis an on one of certainthat a singlegreat nature god- riga. inscription whichmay reflect certain cultural and the altar's anta, survivingfrom the desswas worshipped at Ephesus. The had politicalevents. sixthcentury Romanperiod, telling that G. Domitius beena timeof progress and rationalismAhenobarbus, a partisan of Marcus An- with Ionian The Archaic and Classical graced great philosopherstonius, was a patronof thissanctuary. and scientists,and in the subsequent Remains In thesixth century after Christ, the al- centuriesthese qualities seem to have tarof Artemiswas broughtto ruinto- In thesixth century b.c. at aboutthe disappeared.The upheavalscaused by getherwith the temple.Both monu- same timeas the constructionof the the Persianinvasions of theearly fifth mentsbecame sources of stone for later a factorin their Croesustemple, the seasidesacrificial century were surely constructions,among them the nearby area was coveredover by a largefloor disappearance. ByzantineBasilica of St. John,one of of compactedearth. Here a newaltar Followingthe fourth-century burning whosepilaster capitals was cut froma wasbuilt, one which formed the founda- of the Archaictemple, the altaronce stonetaken from the remainsof the tookon a The tionof the eventualclassical altar of again newshape. base pagantemple. Artemis.It consistedof a squarebase of thescreen wall and thehearth were Muchmore remains to be done,and whichwas usedas a hearthfor animal reusedas foundationsfor new construc- the AustrianArchaeological Institute tions. covered sacrifices.A rampled to it fromthe Reliefs the screenwall, plansto continueits investigationsin north.To thesouth of thehearth an- whichnow stood above a marblesocle theArtemis Sanctuary at Ephesus. othersquare base was built; the mason's carvedin a formof a fence,apparently markson it can stillbe seen.It is pos- in imitationof an olderwooden fence Anton Bammer siblethat the cult statue stood on this whichhad previously surrounded the al- AustrianArchaeological Institute

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Femalehead from the frieze.

Byzantinecapital cut from a stonewhich wasoriginally used in thetemple of Artemis. The classicalegg and dartmoulding has beenretained.

A limestonehead, perhaps Cypriote , is associatedwith the Archaic altar.

LateRoman Republic inscription onan antaof the altar.

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