Jonathon Seeto

Ephesus
1. The Site a. The site of Ephesus first began excavation in 1863 when the British archaeologist John Turtle Wood was on his mission from the British Museum to recover the temple of Artemis, later finding the pavement leading to the Temple in 1869. The location of the site has always been relatively known with Ephesus being a major city, mentioned in the Bible and many other historical texts. It placed on the old shoreline of an ancient harbour. b. As site excavation first began in 1863 rudimentary methods were in practice, with little technology present. John Turtle Wood used sondages in order to analyse the stratigraphy to determine the area of the Temple of Artemis. From here during these early days human mass human labour with shovels, picks and trowels were used. Lack of sponsors thanks to lack of finds lead to Woods last contribution. However in 1893 Otto Benndorf restarted the excavation in a similar fashion to Woods except with vastly greater resources. Benndorf decided to clarify the topography of the city in order to estimate positions of major buildings and artefacts showing a more modern approach than Woods who was only focused on the Temple rather than the whole city. Excavation was halted at both World Wars yet other than that excavation has continued unbroken. In recent years thanks to the relatively easy access location new technology and machines can be transported out to the site. In recent years priority has turned from excavation of new areas to the preservation on current areas. The area of study has also changed with normal day life becoming the major focus. Not just archaeologists but numismatists, epigraphists, ceramicist and many other experts help analyse the artefacts. For example a numismatist collects the coins and currency found and can from them date other relating objects. c. As a site that has worldwide connections (Christianity, Rome, Greece, Persian etc), is fairly easy to access and being one of the best preserved ancient cities Ephesus has almost 2 million tourists visit each year. This while great for income, damages the site even with strict measures in place. The Turkish Government also helps preserve the city covering up monuments when storms come. When first excavated by Wood preservation was not a high standard, one of the reasons for Woods departure. The site as a whole however has not experienced any major preservation problems. No wars or major disasters (Other than the earthquake in 17 A.D. which led to a rebuild of the city) has befallen Ephesus in modern times and limited mistakes were made when excavating the area. In 1994 In order to internationally protect the site it was put on the World Heritage List. Some monuments have in fact been partially or fully restored including the Church of Mary, the Baths of Scholatikia and Saint Johns basilica. In order to deal with tourism in 1970 in conjunction with the U.S National Park service the Ephesus Master Plan was created to help deal with tourism problems. In fact with the great care that has been put into the site by the various

Jonathon Seeto

parties, Ephesus may well be in the same or better condition than when first excavated. Map Of Ephesus

2. The Archaeologists a. John Turtle Wood (1821-1890), was the first archaeologist of the site Ephesus. Wood in fact, initially studied as an architect not as archaeologist. His studies started at the Rossall School in Fleetwood, and continued with private tutors at Venice and Cambridge. As an architect Wood in 1858 was commissioned to design railway stations on a new railway line between Izmir and Denizili. Here is where Woods initial interest in Ephesus came to surface and in 1863 he ended his commission in the mission of finding The Temple of Ephesus. Wood, though inexperienced would eventually achieve his goal though only find the remains of the once great temple. Otto Brenndorf (1838-1907) was the second individual who initiated an excavation at Ephesus in 1895, his proposal for the project back in 1893. Studying theology, art history and archaeology in Bonn and Gottingen from people such as Friedrich Welcker, Otto Jahn and Friedrich Ritschl, Benndorf had a great education for a future as an archaeologist. From here Benndorf went on to teach at universities, however

Jonathon Seeto

participated and led some expeditions including the Samothrace expedition in 1875 and the Lucia, Heroon of Gjolbaschi-Trysa expedition (1881-1882). Eventually he became the chair of archaeology at the University of Vienna where he eventually decided to start the Ephesus excavation. b. Ephesus is one of the most important archaeology sites of today. The site is thought to have been inhabited from the end of the Bronze Age where legends tell of Amazon warriors founding the city. However artefacts have been shown to date back to the Neolithic period making it possible that the city is older than first thought, in fact 6,000 year old remains were found. Not only does the site allow for a glimpse of the ancient past of one culture, it allows us to witness many cultures over time. The city of Ephesus, in fact was inhabited by more than 6 different cultures, each leaving its mark on the city to be found thousands of years later. For example we can compare the types of buildings found in the area made over time. Buildings are especially present in Ephesus including one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world, The Temple of Artemis. This gives us an idea of how ancient architecture (e.g the Hippodamian plan) was used and the technologies involved as well as the ritual practices and religious beliefs. In fact artefacts from the Mycenian, Archaic, Turkish,
Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods are all at this site.

c. Evidence at Ephesus has always been interpreted rather well. Because of Woods Obsession with just the Temple of Artemis he focused on little else and as such found little else. Only bringing back shards and bits of pieces. When Benndorf took over the evidence and artefacts at Ephesus were more thoroughly documented and as such a greater amount of information was gleaned from the excavation. One of the biggest changes of the view of the city came in the 1990s where the Ephesus Museum during an excavation found a prehistoric settlement from the third millennium BCE. Evidence from Ephesus in the present is now not just analysed for its use in great wars or the building of monuments, now the focus is more on the everyday life of the people and as such excavations of new areas has ceased while the protection and repairing of old areas takes priority. The origin and founding of Ephesus is one thing that archaeologies dont know yet estimations have changed since the finding of older and older artefacts and remains. 3. An Artefact a.

Jonathon Seeto

b. "I have seen the walls and Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon, the statue of Olympian
Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the mighty work of the high Pyramids and the tomb of Mausolus. But when I saw the temple at Ephesus rising to the clouds, all these other wonders were put in the shade"- Philon of Byzantium

This quote by Philon describes the epic proportions of the Temple of Artemis in its prime. One of the Seven Ancient Wonders, the Temple was considered one of the greatest of its time. Apart from the tile covered wooden roof the temple was constructed completely out of marble. Over 120, 60 foot marble pillars supported the structure on top of a 430x259 rectangular base. The Temple was rebuilt a number of times over its use and each time it was expanded. Chersiphron a famous architect at the time was part of the force hired by King Croesus of Lydia to construct the Temple. Chersiphron used a system of pulleys and pegs in order to lift the pillars and blocks onto the base of the temple. The construction itself took around 5 years and resulted in one of the seven ancient wonders. Today only a single marble pillar as well as some bits and pieces remain. Located in the middle of a swamp the Temple of Artemis is not even a shadow of its former glory. While a large area where the base of the temple is still visible as well as the rubble remains of the temple however the single pillar is the only recognisable sign left of the temple. Hundreds of texts tell of the Temple of Artemis as it was one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. As such archaeologists knew how old the Temple was before they had even found it. We know the temple was built in 550 B.C., that it was burnt down in 356 B.C. by Herostratus and that in 262 A.D. its marble was used to help reconstruct the city. No other dating techniques have been used to confirm the age of the artefact however if one technique was used it would most likely be Thermo luminescence dating as this would able able to date the remaining marble. This technique can measure when the object was last exposed to extreme heating by measuring the proportional radiation dose absorbed by the material.

c.

The Temple of Artemis is one of the most significant artefacts of the world, let alone of the single site of Ephesus. The Temple, an Ancient Wonder, was visited by people such as Alexander the Great, The Apostate Paul and other great historical men. The Temple is also important in terms of finding and dating other artefacts. We know that many great sculptures and jewels were kept inside the temple. For example it is known that 5 statues of amazons were presented inside the temple, these were the result of a competition were the greatest sculptures of Greece met in Ephesus to challenge one another. This resulted in 5 generic types of Amazon statues being formed. As the city was passed on in the spoils of war so was the temple. In fact the temple met a number of cultures during its time from Greek to Christianity. References from the bible as well as Greek,

Jonathon Seeto

Roman and Persian texts confirm this. The Temple is also used as a landmark to help confirm where other artefacts or building may lay hidden.

Bibliography "Ancient Ephesus, excavations, ruins, map - plan of Ephesus." Turkey Travel Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.turizm.net/cities/ephesus/excavations.html>. "Ancient Wonders: Temple of Artemis." ThinkQuest : Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/5983/pages/temple.htm>. "Ephesus - Travel Link Turkey." Private Tour Guide in Istanbul and all over Turkey. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.travellinkturkey.com/ephesus.html>. "Ephesus ancient city. Artemis temple, virgin mary house, saint john basilica. Ephesus Turkey." Ephesus ancient city. Artemis temple, virgin mary house, saint john basilica. Ephesus Turkey. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.ephesus.us/>. "Otto Benndorf - Dictionary of Art Historians." Dictionary of Art Historians. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.dictionaryofarthistorians.org/benndorfo.htm>. "Sea Spirit Travel your local connection for all your travel needs in turkey, turkey tours and package holidays, ephesus tours and local sightseeing, turkey travel, turkey holiday, travel to turkey, turkish holidays, turkish travel, holidays in turkey, tra." Sea Spirit Travel your local connection for all your travel needs in turkey, turkey tours and package holidays, ephesus tours and local sightseeing, turkey travel, turkey holiday, travel to turkey, turkish holidays, turkish travel, holidays in turkey, tra. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.nofrillsephesustours.com/content/view/285/50/>. "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus." The Museum of UnNatural Mystery. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.unmuseum.org/ephesus.htm>. "Temple of Artemis - Ephesus, Turkey." Sacred Sites at Sacred Destinations - Explore sacred sites, religious sites, sacred places. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/ephesus-temple-of-artemis>. Torre, Marta. The conservation of archaeological sites in the Mediterranean region: an international conference organized by the Getty Conservation Institute and the J. Paul Getty Museum, 6-12 May 1995. Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute, 1997. Print. "ephesus." home page. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://stressrelief.org/ephesus.htm>. elebi, the Ottoman traveller Evliya, and who was however primarily interested in. "Excavation History - AI EN." Home - AI DE. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.oeai.at/index.php/excavation-history.html>.

Jonathon Seeto

http://www.turizm.net/cities/ephesus/excavations.html http://www.ephesus.us/ http://www.travellinkturkey.com/ephesus.html http://www.oeai.at/index.php/excavation-history.html The conservation of archaeological sites in the Mediterranean region http://www.selcuk.bel.tr/eng/selcuk.php?cat=3 http://www.dictionaryofarthistorians.org/benndorfo.htm http://www.nofrillsephesustours.com/content/view/285/50/ http://stressrelief.org/ephesus.htm http://www.unmuseum.org/ephesus.htm http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/ephesus-temple-of-artemis http://library.thinkquest.org/5983/pages/temple.htm