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

Die Haefen von Myndos und ihre Handelseziehungen im Speiegal der Amphorenfunde. Ein Vorbericht

For those who read German, Professor Mustafa Şahin has posted a copy of a paper presented at workshop in Hamburg Feb 2014 titled Die Haefen von Myndos und ihre Handelseziehungen im Speiegal der Amphorenfunde. Ein Vorbericht on Academia.edu

There is an abstract in English which reads:

Between the Asar island and Kocadağ-Aethusa the archaeological excavations succeeded finding the port structure of ancient Myndos. The entrance was protected by these natural structures. As a member of the Dealian League, Myndos had a fleet of 200 ships. In the 5^th century BC the harbour was mostly used for military service. Strabo remarks only one port of Myndos. Later surveys during the 2005/6 campaign showed several new buildings. These structures seemed to belong to a second harbour. Remaining breakwater-structures were also discovered, lying beneath two newly discovered shipwrecks with Egyptian amphora. The expansion of the port-structure until late antiquity prove the importance of the harbour. Myndos seemed to be one of the important trading partners Mediterranean Sea.

I’m assuming the comment regarding a Myndian “fleet of 200 ships” is a typo, or error in translation. In the body of the text there is a reference to Herodotus 5.33, which, in the translations I’ve seen, only mentions a single ship from Myndos being a part of Megabates fleet.

Die Haefen von Myndos und ihre Handelseziehungen im Speiegal der Amphorenfunde. Ein Vorbericht on Academia.edu

Herodotus The Histories 5.33.2 - 5.35.1 on Perseus.uchicago.edu

TINA Maritime Archaeological Periodical No 4 available to read online

Not Gümüşlük or Myndos related but worth a read for anyone interested in Turkish underwater archaeology

TINA Maritime Archaeological Periodical No 4 (In both Turkish and English) 

You can also see what Professor Şahin and Asst Prof Dumankaya, who would normally have been working in Gümüşlük, were doing during the 2015 excavation season

Rabbit Island Excavations

As the excavations on Tavşan Adasi / Rabbit Island start to wind down, I’ve attempted a brief summary of the findings.

Tavşan Adasi / Rabbit Island Excavations

Geophysical Surveys

In an earlier post it was mentioned that Professor Şahin had published an article “Eine karische Hafenstadt an der kleinasiatischen Westküste” (Myndos. A Carian Port on the West Coast of Asia Minor) in a German journal “Antike Welt”

The article contains the results of a series of geophysical surveys conducted during 2011 to 2013. A new page has been added with a summary of the findings which include a building on Kocadağ and the possible location of one of the Myndos' city gates.

Geophysical Surveys

Addition to the Harbours Page

A brief description of the Western Harbour, based on Prof Şahin’s article in May 2004, along with a few photographs of the exposed structures in Dönmezler Bay has been added to the Harbours page.

The Harbours

New Page The Harbours

I’ve created a new page Harbours, and have posted an outline of Professor Şahin’s article on the Inner Harbour. I must stress that it is not a translation or a review of the article in TINA, I have neither the linguistic skills nor the academic qualifications to do either; it is just my best guess at the contents based on the results obtained from two online translation programmes.

I have been limited to Google earth screen shots to identify the areas discussed and I recommend that you download the article, even if like me you don’t read Turkish, there are some impressive aerial & underwater photographs of the area, features and finds.   

The Harbours

Underwater Surveys of the Inner Harbour at Myndos

Professor Şahin has been busy, he’s posted another article on academia.eu. This time it’s a piece titled MYNDOS IÇ LİMAN SUALTİ ARAŞTIRMALARI -2014 (Underwater Surveys of the Inner Harbour at Myndos) which was published in Issue 2014 No 1-2 of TINA, a periodical issued by the Turkish Foundation For Underwater Archaeology.

https://www.academia.edu/10142311/Myndos_%C4%B0%C3%A7_Liman_Sualt%C4%B1_Ara%C5%9Ft%C4%B1rmalar%C4%B1-_2014

Like the last article it’s not available to view at the moment but can be downloaded as a PDF

Myndos. Eine karische Hafenstadt an der kleinasiatischen Westküste (Myndos. A Carian Port on the West Coast of Asia Minor)

Professor Şahin has recently posted an eleven page article titled Myndos. Eine karische Hafenstadt an der kleinasiatischen Westküste (Myndos. A Carian Port on the West Coast of Asia Minor) on Academia.edu.

https://www.academia.edu/10015417/Myndos._Eine_Hafenstadt_an_der_kleinasiatischen_Westk%C3%BCste

The article by Prof Şahin was originally published in current edition (6/2014 dated 21-11-14) of “Antike Welt” (Ancient World) a German journal of archaeology and cultural history.

I had trouble viewing the article but it is available to download.

Presentation to the Bodrum Chamber of Commerce 26 Sep 14

Bodrum Kent TV have reported on a presentation to BODTO, the Bodrum Chamber of Commerce, by Prof Mustafa Şahin, the lead archaeologist, working on the Myndos excavations at Gümüşlük.

During the presentation, which detailed the work to date, the Professor stated that results from a series of geophysical surveys identified features below the present ground surface which indicted that footings, wall lines and roadways of the ancient city still remain, relatively undisturbed, across a large area of the site, furthermore recent research suggested that the site may be much older than originally thought.

Prof Şahin went to say that once the excavations were completed the site could offer a huge boost to the local tourist trade, increasing the season from 3 to 10 months; however it would take many years to complete the excavations under the present regime where the work was limited to a short period each year during the University summer recess.

When asked by a local councillor how much it would cost to employ a team to work on the site for 12 months a year Prof Şahin estimated a cost of 400 – 500 thousand Turkish Lira (approx 174,000 to 217,000 US $) per annum.

Whilst this may seem a large sum, Prof Şahin described how the archaeology team excavating the site of Laodicea (on the Lycus) near the village Eskihisar in the province of Denizli receive an annual budget of 1.5 million TL.

It’s not clear from the article if the professor was attempting to secure funding from individual members of the chamber of commerce or if he was soliciting the chamber’s support to lobby the Bodrum / Muğla Municipalities for additional funding.

Link To The Original Article

Kazı Başkan'dan Açıklama – Explanation from the Chairman of Excavation

Yesterday (02-Sep-14) an article on Bodrum Kent TV’s web page reported that Prof Şahin has issued a written statement in response to Mr Salih Güney’s allegations.

Bodrum Kent TV 02-Sep-14

Like Mr Güney I would also like to see the theatre excavated, but it has been there for over 2000 years so having to wait a for a few more years won’t hurt. After all UU Archaeology are planning a systematic excavation, not a treasure hunt.