Das Apollon Archegetes Heiligtum – The Sanctuary of Apollo Archegetes

Professor Mustafa Şahin has posted an off print, in German, from Cityscapes and Monuments of Western Asia Minor - Memories and Identities titled “Das Apollon Archegetes Heiligtum auf der Asar Insel bei Myndos” on academia.edu

Abstract

“Recent excavations on Asar Island, located by the harbour entrance of Myndos, have brought to light some interesting finds. These indicate that it was originally the site of a cult of Apollo Archegetes – a cult site dominated by a large altar. The altar, the nature of Apollo Archegetes, and Asar Island as an ever-present part of the cityscape for the inhabitants of  Myndos are discussed in this article. In addition, some of the interesting small finds from the excavations are highlighted to further illustrate the development of the site.”

Although there is no definitive date for the altar it is believed to have been erected during the mid 4th century B.C. during, or after, Mausolus’ synoecism of the Lelegian settlements, and that it was later refurbished or supplemented during the Roman Period.

During the later Christian development of the island, one side of the altar was incorporated into the construction of a water cistern.

A dedication discovered in 2013 identifies the altar as being dedicated to Apollo Archegetes with the suffix Archegetes suggesting that Apollo was seen as the founder or protector of the city.

The absence of any other buildings, on the island, dating from this period has led Prof Şahin to propose that the whole of the island may have been a sanctuary and the monumental, marble, architectural masonry found during the excavations may have been part of the propylon at the entrance to the sanctuary.

The paper also catalogues a number of architectural components, ceramic and figurative fragments found during the excavations, including pot sherds which pre-date the altar.

For details of the book see Cityscapes and Monuments of Western Asia Minor

The Basilica Mosaic on Asar Island at Myndos

A 23 page article from the Journal of Mosaic Research JMR Vol 8  2015 is available to view and free to download from academia.edu

https://www.academia.edu/23614036/_The_Basilica_Mosaic_On_Asar_Island_At_Myndos_Myndos_Asar_Adas%C4%B1_Bazilika_Mozai%C4%9Fi_

The article (in English) contains a detailed description of the mosaic and also includes a comprehensive summary of the excavations in area between 2009 and 2011

Latest Newspaper Articles On The Rabbit Island Excavations

There have been a number of articles in the Turkish over the past two days regarding excavations on Rabbit Island / Tavşan Adasi / Asar Adasi which may be associated with an end of (excavation) season press release.

The articles suggest that the island will be open to visitors next year, excavations started in 2009 and access has been limited since that date.

The newspaper reports also contain an apparent revised date for some of the human remains first uncovered in 2009. Early reports suggested that the grave constructions and artefacts suggested interment dates from the 5^th to the 11^th century A.D. however the latest press reports state that some of the remains date from the 3^rd century. 

I was only considering the origins of some of the remains earlier this week as I tried to compile a summary of the excavation reports for 2009-2011. It would be interesting if those now dated to the 3^rd century have been carbon dated as they most likely pre date the church which has previously thought to have been constructed in the 5^th or 6^th century.

The Roman persecution of Christians ended with the Edict of Milan in 313 AD and the Council of Nicaea issued the Nicene Creed in 325 making Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire. 

Assuming that any Christian executed for their beliefs would have died before these dates raises several possibilities:

The church was dedicated to members of a local group who been punished for practising their religion prior to 313 and whose remains were reburied in the 5th or 6th century

The remains are “holy relics” which were interred in the church. This is was a known practice later in northern European churches where the remains of saints and other artefacts would be used to attract pilgrims.

That the present church is built on the site of an earlier 3^rd century church

The latter is fairly unlikely as it is difficult to believe that followers of what was viewed as an unofficial sect / religion would be allowed to construct a place of worship in such a prominent position. However that does discount the possibility that there was an active covert Christian community practicing in area before 313 AD.

As far as I’m aware there are no biblical references to an early 3^rd century Christian community in the area, however there are records of an active Jewish community at Myndos from as early as 139 BC and later around the 4^th to 6^th century AD

I’ve tried to contact UU regarding the dating of the remains, but I don’t hold out much hope of receiving a reply, past attempts to clarify dates etc have been disappointing.

Haberciniz 21-08-14


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Uludağ University have recently posted their photographs from the 2013 excavations on Rabbit Island  / Asar Adasi / Tavşan Adasi  on their Facebook page.

The photographs are mainly of the team at work on Rabbit Island but unfortunately they haven’t updated their main website yet to give any details of what they found last year.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152086899644737.1073741827.320185334736&type=1