Pergamon – Report on the Projects of the 2007 Campaign

Abstract

The work of the Pergamon campaign in 2007 concentrated on the exploration of the Hellenistic royal city and the surrounding area in the framework of the new research programme. In addition a number of projects were carried out concerning the study and publication of certain types of material as well as older excavation finds. As part of the conservation activities at the Red Hall the lapidarium was moved to the new depot, the visitor platform was constructed in the south tower, and the large opening in the west façade of the tower was secured. Investigations on the eastern slope of the acropolis hill have yielded more information supporting the reconstruction of a fan-shaped street-grid. A preliminary proposal for the reconstruction of the insulae indicates that they had a size of approx. 35 m × 45 m. Excavations necessitated by a municipal construction project brought to light a hitherto unknown necropolis with graves from the Roman imperial period on the south-eastern slope just beyond the Hellenistic city walls. This discovery provides us with valuable insights into the organisation of necropolises, the sepulchral architecture and the burial customs of ancient Pergamon. In the area surrounding the royal city, work has focused once again on the poleis Atarneus and Elaia. In Atarneus our understanding of the settlement history has grown to the point where we are now able to show how a flourishing polis of the Classical and early Hellenistic period sank into insignificance as a result of the ascendancy of Pergamon. Elaia, the city’s main harbour, by contrast underwent large-scale expansion and was strongly fortified. The discovery of substantial harbour structures in the shallow waters off the coast could lead in future to an entirely new view of Pergamon as a sea power in the Hellenistic era.