Finds from Miletus XXIV. Hellenistic Terracottas from the East Terrace of Kalabaktepe

Abstract

In the last two years, excavations at the site of the Sanctuary of Artemis on the east terrace of Kalabaktepe have brought to light terracottas from the Hellenistic era for the first time. They can be dated to the period from the middle of the 3rd century B.C. to the late 2nd century B.C. They are few in number and moreover all in a fragmentary state. Even though figural terracottas of these types are known to have been used in a profane context as early as the Hellenistic period, it is possible all the same that these terracottas, in view of their finding place, are associated with the cult of Artemis; such an association cannot be proved, however. This article presents an illustrative selection of the newly discovered terracottas: a child’s head, two women’s heads, the fragment of a wing and the fragment of a female statuette with a bare breast.