Ist Mitt 58 04 Karlsson

istmitt 58, 2008 109 LARS KARLSSON Labraunda 2004–2007 A preliminary report on the Swedish excavations with contributions by Olivier Henry and Jesper Blid Schlüsselwörter: Karien, Labraunda, Kirche, Befestigung, Nekropole Keywords: Caria, Labraunda, Church, Fortification, Necropolis Anahtar sözcükler: Karia, Labraunda, Kilise, Tahkimat, Nekropol Swedish archaeological research at the Karian sanctuary of Zeus at Labraunda began in 1948 and celebrates its 60th anniversary at the site this year (Figs. 1–2). Large areas of the sanctuary were explored in the 1940s and 50s, and there has been further research and fi eldwork since then. As of 2007, the team, based at Uppsala University, has produced ten books on the excavated buildings and fi nds1. Since 2004, under the directorship of this author, renewed work at the site has had the following goals: A) continued research and excavation inside the area of the ancient sanctuary in order to docu- ment the buildings not yet studied; B) investigation of those ancient remains in the vicinity of the site and along the Sacred Way to Mylasa that still need to be documented; I would like to thank the former director, Professor Pontus Hellström, for valuable support and assistance on many oc- casions, as well as the participating archaeologists during the last years of work: Abdulkadir Baran, Jesper Blid, Olivier Henry, Jenny Hjohlman, Sandra Karlsson, Göksan Keskin, Augustus Lersten, Lovisa Strand and Despina Ignatiadou. I also thank our temsilciler for these years: Ïlhan Güceren (2004), Yaæar Yılmaz (2005), Aynur Tosun (2006) and Nilgün Sinan Æentürk (2007). The excavations were supported by Åke Wiberg’s Foundation, Magn. Bergvall’s Foundation, Helge Ax:son Johnson’s Foundation, Gunvor and Josef Anér’s Foundation, as well as Maggie and Stefan Lersten and the La- braunda Society. The Andron A restoration project was supported by the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. I thank Prof. Lana Troy and Prof. C. Brian Rose for improving the English text. I am also grateful to the Director of the German Archaeological Institute in Istanbul, PD Dr. Felix Pirson and the former Director, Prof. Adolf Hoffmann, who assisted in initiating our work at Labraunda. 1 These monographs cover the Temple of Zeus; the South and East Propylon; a general outline of the architecture of the site; the Greek and Karian inscriptions; the Archaic, Classical and later pottery; the stamped amphora handles; and the marble sculpture. Professor Pontus Hellström and architect Thomas Thieme are now fi nishing the manu- script for the volume on Androns A and B. The pottery from the East Stoa was studied by Lovisa Strand during the campaigns of 2005 and 2006. See further bibliography at www.Labraunda.org. 110 lars karlsson istmitt Fig. 1 The sanctuary viewed from the south Fig. 2 Plan of the sanctuary of Zeus Labraundos (J. Blid) 58, 2008 labraunda 2004 – 2007 111 C) improvement of the accessibility of the site for visitors, including measures con- cerning the architectural preservation of the buildings. This preliminary report will concentrate on the three major projects that are currently underway at Labraunda. The report begins with an inventory and analysis of the defensive structures by the author, while the subsequent sections on the Labraunda necropolis and on the Byzantine churches have been written by Olivier Henry and Jesper Blid, respectively. The fortifications around the sanctuary The ancient sanctuary of Labraunda was Karia’s most important cult place as well as a key political centre from the 4th century B. C. well into the Roman period. This is also sug- gested by the complex system of fortifi cations, including free-standing towers, that have been discovered. This system confi rms the impor- tance given to the defense of the sanctuary by all the rulers of the area in this period. The fortifi cations are located around the sanctuary but also along the projecting spur of hills to the southwest, on which the Sacred Way from Mylasa runs (Fig. 3). An important part of our renewed efforts at Labraunda has been to locate and produce precise drawings of all the defensive structures. Fig. 3 Map of the forts and the Sacred Way The Acropolis Fortress has eleven towers, (J. Blid) and was measured with a total station in 2004 and drawn completely. In 2004–2005 we discovered fi ve additional free-standing forts below the sanctuary. They are (west to east): Burgaz Kale, Tepesar Kale, Ucalan Kule, Kepez Kule and Harap Kule (see Fig. 3). These forts and towers were then plotted onto the general plan with a total station. It is obvious that these fortifi cations belong to the same defensive system: all forts (except Burgaz) have a clear view up to the fortress on the Akropolis. There is also an open view between the forts. From the towers further east and below Labraunda, like Kepez and Harap, there is a clear view back towards Tepesar Kale and the Akropolis Fortress. The sanctuary at Labraunda was thus protected by a ring of forts. The Ucalan tower is the closest, located about 800 m from the sanctuary and situated directly above the Sacred Way. The 112 lars karlsson istmitt Fig. 4 Plan of the Akrop- olis Fortress (L. Karlsson) tower is rectangular, measuring 8.85 and 9.40 m on the east and west sides, and 6.90 and 7.10 m on the north and south sides. The next tower, Kepez, is situated ca. 1300 m southwest of the sanctuary and consists of a square building with a side of 6.95 m, i.e. almost the same size as the Ucalan tower. This is followed by Tepesar Kale, which is a large free-standing tower with four interior rooms separated by substantial partition walls. The sides of the fort measure 11.40–11.65 m, and it is located ca. 1900 m southwest of Labraunda. Further southwest of Tepesar is the largest fort, Burgaz Kale, which is more like a castle. It is situated approximately 3000 m from Labraunda (discussed below). The last tower, called Harap, is located 3060 m from Labraunda to the southwest. The Akropolis Fortress The fortress is located just north of the sanctuary, but is on a level 100 m above the temple. It is likely that this fortress is the one mentioned as Petra in two inscriptions found at Labraunda2. The fortress encircles the top of the hill on which the sanctuary of Labraunda is located. The fortress is a rather small complex (Fig. 4). It measures 135 m in an east-west direction and about 90 m north-south. The walls, measuring about 280 m in length, form a large enclosure except on the western side, where a series of rocks about 4 m high form a perfect barrier. There is also a very steep cliff outside the walls. The fortress is built on a ground level of between 752 and 798 m above sea level. The lowest part is the gate area, located towards the sanctuary in the south. The difference in level from the gate area to the upper parts is thus more than 45 m. The complex includes eleven towers. Tower 1 is located on a very high rock, and Towers 5, 6 and 9 are also placed on large and almost free-standing granite outcroppings. Towers 7 and 8 frame the 2.5 m wide opening for the gate. The towers are of a fairly equal size, averaging 6 × 6 m, except 2 Labraunda inscription nos 4, line 11 and 6B, line 7: Crampa 1969, 22. 26 and 42. Cf. also the discussion in Robert 1983, 276–280. 58, 2008 labraunda 2004 – 2007 113 Fig. 5 Plan of the Burgaz Kale (L. Karlsson) for the large chevron-shaped bastion, Tower 3, which measures 12.70 × 9.20 m. The thickness of the curtain walls is 1.80 m throughout. There are traces of buildings inside the fortress, possibly barracks for soldiers, behind and south of Tower 3. These will be investigated in 2008. The Fortress of Burgaz Kale Labraunda was thus protected by sophisticated fortifi cations and free-standing forts. However, the date of their construction has been a matter of controversy. Scholars have long attempted to place them somewhere in the period between the reign of Maussollos (377–351 B. C.) and the late 3rd century B. C. The problem is that none of these fortifi cations has been actually dated by archaeological fi nds. One of the aims of the excavations at the Burgaz and Akropolis fortresses is to produce dating material that will make a signifi cant contribution to our understanding of both the architecture and the history of Hellenistic Asia Minor. The impressive fortress at Burgaz Kale was built with large (sometimes over 2 meter long) ashlar blocks of the local hard granite. The masonry is isodomic of the usual 4th-century B. C. type, with headers and stretchers at (irregular) intervals. The fort consists of two rectangular buildings connected by a courtyard (Fig. 5). The eastern rectangular building measures 18.8 × 7.45 m and 114 lars karlsson istmitt a Fig. 6 View over Rooms 1–3 (2007) consists of three rooms: two catapult towers on either side of an entrance room. In the southwest there is another square catapult tower measuring 7.45 × 7.7 m, while the rest of the west side is occupied by three rooms with less substantial walls and which were not bonded with the catapult rooms. The excavation trenches were laid out in this area, which we believed had been used as barracks, i.e. the rooms in which the soldiers on duty b had their living quarters (Fig.

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