Finds from Miletus XXVIII. Lydian Architectural Terracottas from Zeytintepe

Abstract

It is possible to reconstruct a depiction of a racing chariot from four fragments recovered at the sanctuary of Aphrodite on Zeytintepe near Miletus between 1991 and 2007. They evidently originate from the same relief panel. Amongst architectural terracottas, clay artefacts such as these belong to the category of revetment plaques; specimens with this subject have become known above all from Larisa on the river Hermos. They are dated to the 3^rd quarter of the 6^th cent. BC and are associated with the Lydians – although their place of manufacture has not been established beyond doubt. For this reason it would be preferable to refer to them as revetment plaques of the ›Lydian type‹. Since it is a one-off find and there is no evidence of an architectural context at the find site, the article proposes regarding the object as a votive offering to Aphrodite singular in its utilization, even though it cannot be known who the donor was.