Didyma. Report on the Projects in 2010–2013

Abstract

At the extra-urban sanctuary of Didyma in Turkey, excavations have been under way since 2009, conducted by research group »Kulte im Kult« of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences. Since 2012, architectural members from a Hellenistic temple have been systematically documented. Analysis of them has already revealed that they belonged to a building that repeated the ornament system of the Apollo naiskos on a slightly larger scale but was nevertheless not identical to it. Adjoining the probably ancient foundations of the present-day mosque, a Hellenistic strip foundation for a further cult building at the sanctuary was exposed in 2013. Further excavations are necessary for an exact determination of the cult building. During excavations south of the Temple of Apollo in 2010 and 2011, the ruins of a theatre with a Greek plan were exposed. It was dated to the Imperial period on the basis of the archaeological record. The theatre is not mentioned explicitly in written sources, but it is now possible to localize the venue for the artistic contests that written sources say were held at the sanctuary. In 2013, south-east of the ancient site, the remains of a Christian chapel built upon ancient foundations were excavated. This initiated a reappraisal of the remaining churches from the Byzantine and early modern era.