The city wall is one of the oldest and best preserved buildings of Hellenistic Ephesos. Erected during the reign of King Lysimachos, a former gerenal of Alexander the Great, the city wall defines the borders of Hellenistic Ephesos and extends as far as to Mt. Bülbül Dağ in the West and Mt. Panayır Dağ in the East. The topographical structure of these two mountains, however, allows easy access to the city only at few points; hence, there are only a few number of city gates within the course of the city wall.

Apart from the Harbour Gates marking the seaside entrance into the city, and two only hypothetically reconstructable gates in the North and in the West of Ephesos, the Magnesian Gate in the South East of the city is one of the most important points when entering the city from the hinterland. Not only, this gate is the largest one of Ephesos, flanked by two large towers and adorned by a wide courtyard, but also it is the place where most major regional and supraregional streets meet the urban area of Ephesus.
In a new project, the regional and supraregional significance of the Magnesian Gate is being studied (start of the project: fall 2007). The project is based at the Austrian Archaeological Insitute and is kindly financed by the Austrian Science Fund (Project-No. P19987-G02).

The Magnesian Gate derives its name from the street to Magnesia at Maiandros, located only a few kilometres to the South East of Ephesos. The identification of the Gate as the Magnesian one, known from inscriptions found in Ephesos, was due to John Turtle Wood, who discovered and uncovered the structures as early as in 1869. Further investigations were undertaken by the Austrian Archaeological Insitute in 1907 and later on, by Gérard Seiterle in the 1970s and '80s.
As far as the architectural layout is concerned, the Magnesian Gate is positioned axially to the course of the city wall (type of axial gate) and has a large courtyard placed in the back of the towers. Originally this courtyard was open to the front. This arrangement fits well into the traditional pattern of Hellenistic courtyard gates, known from examples at Iasos, Halikarnassos or Assos (McNicoll 1997). The original architecture, however, is lost in most parts. Instead, the towers and pillars are constructed of reused stones of different shapes and sizes; the apparent complexity of the history of the building has to get clearified in this project.
Generally spoken, city gates are always vulnerable points of perimeter walls, and this is the reason why the protection of the entrance takes priority over other matters. At least from classical times onward, flanking towers and courtyards are standard features of large gate complexes. Aside from that, city gates are also a place of representation, visible from long distances, and hence have to meet the necessary requirements of aesthetic values. Moreover, the traffic going into and out of the city had to be organized at the major city gates, as well as controlling incoming goods and taking care of pack animals. These features are all part of the conception of a city gate, whose demands on representation and logistic organization can be traced at the furnishing of the gate beyond the needs of defense, such as at ramps, exedras, water systems and the like.

The new research aims therefore at the following questions:
.) Documentation of the architecture and analysis of the various phases of construction and use; excavation at relevant points
.) Reconstruction of the whole complex of the gate
.) Analysis of the context of the gate's architecture and the direct environment
.) Ascertainment of the various functions of the Magnesian Gate; analysis of transformation processes in the area of the gate
.) Importance of the Magnesian Gate as a point of transition between town and country of Ephesos
.) Comparison of the Magnesian Gate with other well known fortification sites in Asia Minor.

Picture Captions
Fig. 1: City map of Ephesos (C. Kurtze © ÖAI; adaption by A. Sokolicek)
Fig. 2: The Magnesian Gate, total view from south-east (© ÖAI; photo A. Sokolicek)
Fig. 3: View of northern side of the southern tower (©ÖAI; photo A. Sokolicek)
Fig. 4: Middle entrance with traces of rails for chariots (© ÖAI; photo A. Sokolicek)
Fig. 5: Screenshot of a 3-D-laserscan-recording of the Magnesian Gate; view to south-west (© TUW-ILScan/Technical University of Vienna - SRF, R. Kalasek)

Bibliography:
A. McNicoll, Hellenistic Fortifications from the Aegean to the Euphrates (Oxford 1997).
J. T. Wood, Discoveries at Ephesus (London 1877) 79-80. 111-120.
G. Seiterle, Das Hauptstadttor von Ephesos, AntK 25, 1982, 145-149.
G. M. Rogers, The Sacred Identity of Ephesos (London - New York 1991) 85-89. 155. 163.
G. Seiterle, Grabungen 1996, ÖJh 66, 1997, 23.
G. Seiterle, Grabungen 1997, ÖJh 67, 1998, 29-30.
P. Scherrer, Hellenistische und römische Stadttore in Kleinasien unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von Ephesos, in: Th. G. Schattner - F. Valdés (Hrsg.), Stadttore - Bautyp und Kunstform. Puertas de ciudad, tipo arquitectónico y forma artística, Acts of the Symposium in Toledo 2003, IbArch 8 (Madrid 2007) 63-78.