Archaeological Survey 2004

Although the area has been the subject of a protection order for some time there seems to have been no systematic evaluation of the area until a survey in 2004.

The survey looked at a number of areas:

An examination of the known standing archaeological remains and topographical survey of the north western section of the isthmus and adjacent area.

A survey of the tombs which form the city’s necropolis

An underwater survey of the present harbour.

A review of 77 artefacts previously found at Gümüşlük and now held by the Museum of Underwater Archaeology at Bodrum

A.  Tower on the Acropolis

B.  Church With Exposed Mosaic

C.  Western Harbour

D.  Temple (Dionysus?)

E.  Possible Location of the Theatre

F.  Church Where Older Temple Marbles Have Been Incorporated In The Construction

G.  Baths

H.  Lelegian Wall

I.    Harbour Building

As a result of the exercise the team were able to report:

That the best preserved section of the Mausolus’ city walls stands on the highest point of the circuit, the acropolis. In addition to confirming that the wall dates from the 4^th century BC, the team also discovered the remains of a two roomed structure, associated with the tower on the acropolis, which had a waterproof lining and is assumed to be a cistern.

Tower on the Acropolis

In the large field on the western side of the promontory the substructure of a church with an in situ mosaic was identified. A rescue excavation was initiated by the Museum of Underwater Archaeology. Following the evaluation the mosaic was sealed to prevent further damage.

Site of the Rescue Excavation to Preserve
an Exposed Mosaic

Part of the Exposed Mosaic in 1998

The church overlooks a small bay which was thought to be a second harbour; 10 years later in 2014 Professor Mustafa Şahin of Uludağ University published an article “A New Discovery In The Myndos Harbour Survey: The West Harbour” Link to Harbour Article

To the east of the harbour, built on a platform of natural rock, the survey located the remains of a possible temple. The topographical study of the landscape north of the temple identified a large concave or bowl shaped depression which the archaeologists proposed may have been the site of the theatre. The report goes on to speculate that because of the proximity of the temple to the possible theatre, the temple may have been dedicated to Dionysus.

Temple Site

The survey of this area also identified the presence of a 10m wide road running from the theatre, it was proposed that because of it size and location it could have been be the city’s main street. The evidence smaller streets running parallel to the “main street” led the team to suggest that the layout of the city may have been in accordance with the Hippodamian plan.

Approximately 250m east of the temple, standing just of the lane which leads from the harbour, the team surveyed the remains of a church where marble “of first class workmanship”, from an earlier structure, had been incorporated in the construction. the remains of the apse, central aisle and possibly two side aisles were still evident. The overall dimensions were recorded as 14.0 x 16.30m

Outer Wall the Church Incorporating Architectural
Marbles From an Earlier Temple

For photographs of the architectural marble used in the interior of the church please use the attached link to a Google+ Album Slide Show

In the same area, some 35m NE of the church, the survey reported substantial walls  measuring 36m x 12m with the apsidal northern end remaining almost to its full height. The building was believed to be bath complex. This assumption is supported in the report by anecdotal evidence of a large quantity of marble basins being discovered in a well only 100m from the site.

Apsidal Northern Wall of the Baths

The evaluation of the “Lelegian Wall” led to a proposal that it may have been constructed considerably earlier than previous academics had suggested. For further details on the proposed dating see Lelegian Wall

In the entrance to the harbour, opposite Rabbit Island, the survey team found the remains of a small two roomed structure with a mosaic floor. The team were unable to speculate on the possible purpose or use of the building other than to say it probably connected with the harbour
.

Exposed Mosaic of the Two Roomed Structure in the 
Harbour Entrance 2002.

The survey of the tombs indicated that the necropolis is spread over an area of approximately 200 Hectares (2 square kilometres) encircling the city walls from the Gum San resort, north west of the city walls, to Kizil Buren at the southern end of the beach.

Tomb on Kizil Burun

Tomb Approximately 60m SW of the old Jandarma Station

It is not altogether clear in the English translation of the report if the underwater survey was performed by the team or by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology. The report describes identifying the foundations of wall and architectural structures which were clearly visible and assumed to have “sank in to the water” during an earthquake. Non copyrighted underwater photographs of structures are hard to come by but attached is a link to a photograph on the Istanbul Museum web site. Link to Museum Image

In addition to the underwater structures the survey identified a large number of amphorae fragments close to the harbour entrance; one partially complete amphora was thought to have been of Palestinian design. Further into the harbour the divers located a concentration of architectural marble, surveying the main body of the harbour was restricted as visibility was reduced to 0.5m by a build up of fine silt which was thought to be a result of waste being discharged from the boats moored in the harbour and from some of the restaurants.

The review of artefacts previously found in Gümüşlük, and now held by the Museum at Bodrum, revealed a date range from the Mycenaean through to the Byzantine era.

The presence of objects which pre date Mausolus’ synoecism of the Lelegian settlements on the peninsula in the 4^th century BC i.e. two pieces of Mycenaean pottery and a fragment of a Kouros from the Greek Archaic period, along with construction methods used to build the “Lelegian Wall”, prompted the team to suggest that the area must have been inhabited prior to Mausolus rebuilding the city of Myndos.

Originally the team had hoped to conduct a geophysical evaluation using a proton magnetometer but the exercise had to be postponed as the rescue excavation and protection of the mosaic, mentioned earlier, was seen to be a higher priority.

Summarising their findings the team concluded that a large part of the city’s remains were still in situ and that systematic archaeological excavations were urgently required as they feared that that the area could be at risk from be development.