Der kaiserzeitliche Tempel von Asartepe/Kimistene in der Chora des paphlagonischen Hadrianopolis

Ergebnisse der Prospektion von 2005

Abstract

In the west of Eskipazar district in the province of Karabük, near the villages Deresemail and Değirmenbaşı, there is a ridge called Asartepe with four hill tops, the ancient site of Kimistene. On the northern slope of its acropolis, on an artifi cial terrace, lie the remains of a rural sanctuary from Roman times. The sanctuary was first documented archaeologically in a survey in 2005. All surface remains, the retaining walls of the temple terrace, the rectangular foundations of the temple and its cella and the monumental access staircase leading to the terrace were documented. It was also the first time that the architectural blocks of local limestone at the site were documented. Their stylistic classification reveals at least two phases for the construction of the temple, one in the late 2nd/early 3rd cent. A.D. and a second, perhaps only a repair phase, during the 3rd cent. A.D. The temple was most probably dedicated to Zeus Kimistenos, to whom there is a reference on a rock inscription. The archaeological investigation of the Zeus Kimistenos temple of Kimistene documented not only one of the few Roman temples in Paphlagonia but also important evidence regarding a religious phenomenon in Asia Minor, namely the rural cult of a local Zeus.