From 1986-1997, the famous Church of Virgin Mary, which already had been revealed in the 'twenties of the 20th century, has been newly analyzed according to modern archaeological methods. The results which have been obtained have modified, even revolutionized, the picture. Currently, preparations are under way for an extensive publication, which will take into account the building history, and the ceramic and anthropological finds.

For the present, the following phases of building and usage may be differentiated:
Phase 1: Olympieion - South Stoa. Of great significance was the recognition that the Marienkirche and the Bishop's Palace which belonged to it were built into the 263 m. long, three-aisled south hall of the Olympieion, the area of the Hadrianic imperial cult. The centre of this hall was articulated by the marble pilasters which are still in situ in front of the southern apse. Here, the exterior walls were pierced by an open row of pilasters. In the strata dating to the Hadrianic period lay ceramic finds of the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D., which conform well to the local series.
Phase 2: The Council of 431. The expansion of the middle aisle of the imperial-period hall, and the construction of an open, 6 m. wide semicircular area with an altar in front of it - thus, a presbyterion, yet still lacking a closing apse - may be dated on the basis of finds to the 5th century A.D.: coins with a date range of 364-426, thus continuing almost exactly to the time of the Council, allow the contention that a building was in fact begun here for the Council, a building whose construction, however, according to the archaeological finds, was shortly thereafter abandoned.
Phase 3: The Column Church. In a continuation of Phase 2, the great east apse was constructed and the open exterior wall was closed in using limestone blocks. In front of the apse which was faced with marble, the semicircular area was left as it was, and in the expanded presbyterion a two-coloured opus sectile floor in a complicated cross star pattern was laid down. In this manner, a monumental church was achieved, a church which could very well be termed a cathedral. The date of this phase has been recently discovered through coin finds, which encompass a date range from 429-491. This means that the regular Marienkirche, which only a little later received the canonical name of the "holiest church of the most holy, most honoured and eternal virgin Mary", can only have been first erected at about A.D. 500. In the eastern area of the former hall, the episkopeion (Bishop's Palace) was laid out around a central hall.
Phase 4: Liturgical Alterations. A little later, the semicircular area dating back to Phase 1 was contained within an 11 m.-wide priests' bench. At the apex of the apse a marble table altar was placed, a position which indicates that the celebrant could only have stood further to the east. The floor was laid with red and white marble in a diamond pattern.
Phase 5: Dome and Pilaster Church. The massive reconstruction, which during the next phase resulted in a complete alteration of the complex, was undoubtedly necessitated by an earthquake which severely damaged the Column Church. At this time, in the region in front of the apse, free-standing stone pilasters were erected instead of the columns; and the west part of the church was rebuilt as a vaulted dome church, with its own apse, using massive brick construction. The tombs, which are found predominantly in the narthex-like space between these two areas, were placed there at the earliest after this construction phase.
Phase 6: Ambo Church. Already in the 6th century the presbyterion in front of the east apse was yet again altered, this time via the erection of a new priests' bench which was erected over the earlier table altar. Furthermore, now for the first time an ambo (chancel) was built. Further study of the Marienkirche archaeological contexts - which, although containing relatively little material, nonetheless are closed and do contain datable coins - awaits a more thorough ordering of the late antique ceramic finds from the city of Ephesos, which will also shed light on the finds from the Ephesos stadium.
Phase 7: Final phase of the church. According to finds from the Bishop's Palace, the site was most likely abandoned as a result of the Arab invasions of 654/655. Through the removal of the population to Hagios Theologos (Selçuk), a removal also connected to the invasions, the Marienkirche must have lost its importance as a Metropolis. In a final alteration of its eastern part, the church was reduced to its central aisle through the walling-up of the pilastered section dating back to Phase 5. Of great interest in connection with this period is the discovery of a set of dishes from a filled-in channel dating to the first half of the 7th century. The Marienkirche served as a cemetery church in this form until at least the 11th century, until finally - after the collapse in particular of the cupola - it served in the late Mediaeval period as a goal for devout pilgrims and as a focal point of the cemetery which grew up around it, as proved by the remains of glazed ceramic as well as by glass and bronzes from the graves.
Up until 1994, the finds were studied by Danica Beyll. Petra Turnovsky is responsible for the current study of the finds (research which is funded, as the previous research had also been, by the Austrian Science Fund and by the Swiss Foundation for Ephesos).

Picture Captions
Fig. 1: Ephesos, Church of Virgin Mary (ÖAI II 1335)
Fig. 2: Ephesos, Church of Virgin Mary, the building in the year 431
Fig. 3: Ephesos, Church of Virgin Mary, the domed and pillared church of the 6th century
Fig. 4: Ephesos, Church of Virgin Mary, complex of tableware from a drain of the first half of the 7th century

Bibliography:
D. Beyll, Terra sigillata aus der Marienkirche in Ephesos, 1. Zwischenbericht, BerMatÖAI 5 (1993) 5-45.
St. Karwiese, Die Marienkirche in Ephesos. Erster vorläufiger Gesamtbericht über die Wiederaufnahme der archäologischen Untersuchung 1984-1986, DenkschrWien 200 (1989).
Jährliche Grabungsberichte in den ÖJh.