Campaign 2011

Co-workers in 2011; other countries: NOR, GR, RO, DEN, HUN, HR (je 1)

Ephesos is an interdisciplinary research project. In addition to archaeology and prehistory, the following disciplines were also represented in 2011: anthropology, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, architecture and construction, biology, Byzantine studies, chemistry, epigraphy, photography, genetics, geodesy, geology, geophysics, numismatics, paleography, restoration science, urban planning, statics, and Turkology.

Excavations took place at seven locations, covering a chronological period from the 7th millennium B.C. up to the 19th century A.D. At Çukuriçi Höyük it was possible to reveal Late Neolithic levels for the first time. At the Artemision, an Odeion of the Roman period was discovered, which was probably the site of the Artemiseia, the festival in honour of Artemis of Ephesos. At the Temple of Domitian, a large building of Late Antiquity, with figural mosaic decoration, was excavated. Smaller scale investigations at the Theatre contributed to the final observations relating to the research of the structure. A focal point was the examination of Late Antique residential buildings, from which one located near the Varius Baths as well as a peristyle house in the Verulanus Colonnade could be studied more closely. The chronological terminus was represented by the excavations in the Türbe in the Artemision, where the sequence of levels extends from the 11th to the 19th century.

Survey activity in the immediate vicinity of the city was intensified. On the one hand, the area of the Harbour Necropolis and the Harbour Canal, up to where it reaches the sea at Pamucak, could be walked over and mapped, while on the other hand an intensive walking survey took place at the Bülbüldağ. The survey of the Değirmendere aqueduct could also be completed.

Particular emphasis was given in 2011 to conservation and restoration work. Work in the Great Theatre and in the Marble Hall of Residential Unit 6 was continued. Restoration of the wall paintings in Terrace House 2 was added to the restoration programme, in the framework of which four rooms, including the ›Erotes Room‹, could be completed. At the Temple of Hadrian, the most serious damage was removed and the most dangerous areas were stabilised. At the Serapeion, the mapping of the damaged areas and restoration analysis took place, while restoration projects for the Türbe in the Artemision and the Türbe near the city hospital were presented to the Turkish Authorities for Monuments (Kurul).

Basic financing was provided by the Austrian Ministry for Science and Research (BMWF), while additional financing was secured via grants from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and from the European Research Council (ERC). The proportion of private funding by the Society for the Friends of Ephesos (GFE), the Ephesus Foundation, Borusan Holding, and the American Society of Ephesus was greatly increased.

The following research institutions participated in the excavation campaign of 2011: Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, University of Vienna, University of Innsbruck, Technical University Vienna, University for Applied Arts Vienna, Veterinary Medical University Vienna, Montane University Leoben (Austria), Museum of Fine Arts Vienna, Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Dokuz Eylül University Izmir, University of Muğla, University of Aydιn, Technical College Regensburg, University of Cologne, University of Göttingen, Roman-German Central Museum Mainz, and University of Amsterdam.