Pergamon – Das neue Forschungsprogramm und die Arbeiten in der Kampagne 2019

Abstract

In 2019, the Pergamon Excavation concentrated on projects of the new research programme ›The transformation of the Pergamon micro-region between the Hellenistic and the Roman imperial period‹ (TransPergMikro). Completion of the excavation of the so-called banqueting house on the east slope of the acropolis hill produced important new findings on the construction, furnishings, amenities, and use of the unusual structure. The first systematic excavations in the amphitheatre of Pergamon attested a niche-wall as the termination of the arena, its floor and also a construction for damming up water in its interior. Building archaeology investigations were continued in the amphitheatre as well as in the extraurban thermal bath. Archaeological and geophysical follow-up investigations on the tumuli Yığma Tepe and X-Tepe were concluded. A new project in the vicinity of the Asklepieion yielded initial findings on land use and settlement structure and also discovered a previously unknown construction terrace above the sanctuary. Investigations in the surroundings of Pergamon using archaeology and physical geography concentrated on selected sections of the landscape and on certain exceptional structures and their immediate surroundings at the southwest edge of the Kaikos (Bakırçay) plain. Of particular note is a complex with rich marble architecture and evidence of the production of architectural terracotta. The first campaign of an intensive survey in Pitane (Çandarlı) was primarily aimed at ascertaining the type, scope and duration of pottery production there. Monument conservation measures again focused on the gymnasium and the Red Hall, where conservation work lasting several years on the cladding of the southeast temenos wall was concluded. The Pergamon Excavation broke new ground with a capacity building project in the excavated residential area below the expedition house.