2020 EXCAVATION, CONSERVATION AND REPAIR WORKS
With the circular of the Council of Ministers dated 03.10.2016 and numbered 2016/ 9336, archaeological excavation and restoration works in the ancient city of Tripolis on behalf of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate of Cultural Assets and Museums and Pamukkale University are carried out under the presidency of Prof. Dr. Bahadır Duman.
The excavations are carried out under the supervision of Prof., Assoc., Dr., Lecturer, Dr., Lecturer. Academicians from different disciplines including archaeologists, epigraphists, biologists, geologists, art historians, architects, anthropologists, restorers and conservators participated in the studies.
EXCAVATION WORKS
Residential Area East Street
In 2018 and at the beginning of the 2019 excavation season, a large part of the urban transportation line, which we defined as the 'East Street' and whose existence was first revealed during the 2013 excavations, but only a small part of which was adjacent to the 'Mosaic House' and the dwelling to the south of it could be exposed, was uncovered.
Within the 2019 excavation program, 63.50 m of this alley, which is located east of the Mosaic House, was exposed. This alley probably intersects the Colonnaded Street perpendicularly in the north and its southern extension continues until the end of the southern residential building of the Mosaic House.
In order to determine the phases of use of the street and to understand its relationship with the other spaces around it, the excavation of the street towards the south was included in the excavation program for 2020. In line with this plan, an additional 24 m of the street was excavated to the south and a total of 87 m of the street was excavated from the northern section.
The east and west sides of the street are bounded by small and medium-sized, flat-faced, rough-sawn travertine blocks and tea stones built with a double-row knitting system using lime mortar. These walls, which are partially preserved and vary in thickness between 60 and 65 cm, also form the outer walls of the spaces extending parallel to the street.
The sewer line extends from the middle part of the Mosaic House East Street in the north-south direction along the street. The sewer cover stones formed by using large-sized travertine blocks also form the street floor. The sewer cover stones, which are largely preserved, vary between 65 and 110 cm in width and between 225 and 280 cm in length.
During the works carried out from the northern section of the Mosaic Dwelling East Street towards the south, an alley cutting the Mosaic Dwelling East Street perpendicularly in the east-west direction was encountered. It was observed that this alley with a width of 5 meters continues through the east and west sections. The excavation of 4 meters each of the east and west sections of the alley was carried out.
The excavated section of the eastern alley has a 6 m difference in elevation from north to south. Such a high level difference in a short distance indicates that the alley was built according to the slope of the topography.
Latrina
The Latrina is located between the south of the Monumental Fountain and the North Portico of the Agora. The corridor from the main street of the city to the East Portico of the Sanctuary also passes in front of the entrance door of the Latrina. The building was built right in the center of the public spaces of the city.
The excavations were first carried out on the ruins adjacent to the east and southeast of the Latrina in an area of 12x12 meters in total. It was observed that there were many architectural blocks belonging to the Latrina, the Monumental Fountain and the Hierapolis Street. To the southeast of the latrina, the remains of an east-west oriented arch built with terracotta bricks were encountered. Five types of bricks used in the arch were identified.
After the excavation and removal of the ruins scattered over the Hierapolis Street, the street floor was reached. In the excavated part of the street, it was observed that the floor arrangement was formed with large-sized flat travertine blocks and the street floor was preserved to a great extent. Due to the topographic structure of the area, the ground continues to rise towards the north.
In the 2019 excavation season, since the western half of the Latrina structure could not be excavated, the detailed data of that part could not be fully obtained and it was included in the excavation plan for 2020 and it was aimed to open the entire western wall of the Latrina first. Afterwards, the connection with the East Portico of the Sanctuary was tried to be found. During the excavations carried out to open the western wall of the latrina, a total trench size of 12 x 4 m was first determined. In this way, while the western half of the structure was opened, all of the southern and northern walls were also visible and the integrity of the structure was ensured.
During the excavations in the western half of the latrina, 3 north-south oriented postaments and Attic-Ion column bases were exposed on the western part of the stylobate line surrounding the pool. The column bases are made of white veined quality marble and were found insitu on the postaments. Sitting stones leaning against the west and north walls of the latrina were unearthed.
After the removal of the fill soil and the debris belonging to the load-bearing and roof system, the extent of the earthquake damage was more clearly understood. In front of the west wall and north wall of the 8.5 x 8.1 m Latrina, which is dated to the early 2nd century AD, complete but damaged seating blocks were found. The seating blocks were repaired using the anastylosis method and put back in their places. In front of the south and east walls, on the other hand, the seating rows were not preserved until today. Likewise, the floor of the building, the floor bricks of the pool, and an intensely burnt layer just 10-15 cm above the seating blocks were encountered throughout the building. Carbonized wood samples and broken roof tile fragments in the burnt layer are related to the roof arrangement of the building and were removed by taking the necessary data and samples.
The floor of the latrina waste water channel was built with a single row of terracotta bricks and filled with lime mortar. After the pavers were found in the southern channel, it was noticed that there was a serious slope descending from west to east.
There is a narrow corridor between the south façade of the Monumental Fountain and the north façade of the Latrina, with a width between 2.5 m and 1 m. The corridor can be accessed both from the west of the Main Street and from the East Portico of the Sanctuary. The south wall of the Monumental Fountain forms the north side of the pool used for cleaning by the visitors to the Latrina on the left side of the entrance, while the other three sides are bounded by cut travertine blocks. The floor of the pool is paved with 7 bricks made of terracotta.
Sacred Space
The Sanctuary is one of the most important buildings among the public spaces built in the city center due to its location and the fact that the architectural elements were exposed insitu. When we look at the buildings adjacent to the south of the building, the agora is located in the eastern half and the bouleuterion in the western half, and the access to these buildings is provided by a portico. The east of the Sanctuary is bounded by the Monumental Fountain, while buildings such as the baths and theater are located to the northwest. On the north side of the north wall of the building, which is surrounded by temenos walls, the Theatre Bath Street runs east-west.
In 2019, the excavation of the fill soil formed by flood and wind accumulation in the courtyard of the Sanctuary was started and the work was terminated after proceeding approximately 18 m west of the East Portico of the Sanctuary. In the 2020 excavations, similar to the targets set in the previous year, it is planned to excavate the fill soil formed by flood and wind accumulation from the northern slopes of the city in the courtyard of the Sanctuary. The stratigraphic structure of the fill soil was evaluated by taking into account the excavations carried out in the colonnaded galleries of the Sanctuary in previous years, and the beginning of the excavations was planned in a way that would not interfere with the excavations to be carried out in the following years. During the excavations, intact or fragmented architectural elements were uncovered, block numbers were assigned and each stage was documented with photographs. Architectural drawings were also carried out.
The courtyard of the Sanctuary, located north of the Agora, west of the Monumental Fountain and south of the Theater Bath Street, measures 36 m in the north-south direction and 70 m in the east-west direction. It consists of a 3 m layer of fill soil deposited by the flood waters and strong winds coming from the northern slopes of the city over the centuries. While in the previous year only the eastern section of the fill soil was worked on, this year the northern, western and eastern sections were worked on.
During the excavations on the courtyard floor, finds such as large and small marble slabs, baseboards, plasters, column bodies and amorphous fragments of various sizes, which were encountered on the floor on different excavation days, were unearthed in almost every building in the city and grouped in detail in the classification area.
The excavations proceeded about 20 meters east from the West Portal of the Sanctuary and a layer of soil about 15 meters wide and 20 meters long was excavated from the courtyard. After the removal of the soil layer, a circular pool made of white marble was exposed. It was observed that the pool was severely damaged and many pieces were broken around it. In addition, the presence of 3 iron clamps on the pool shows that it was restored in the ancient period.
The excavation of 16 m of the filling soil layer west of the 5th to 12th columns from north to south on the East Portico of the Sanctuary was carried out during the excavations of the last period. During the 2020 excavations, the excavations were carried out in a 15x15 m area on the 3 m high fill soil layer, and the excavations were extended 15 m further to the West.
The 10 m section of the waste water channel, which extends in the northwest-southeast direction over the floor of the Sanctuary and connects to the sewerage of Hierapolis Street, was made visible within the study area. The channel was covered with rough-sawn travertine stones with widths ranging between 30 and 80 cm and lengths between 75 and 135 cm, and the sides of the cover stones were supported with small and medium-sized tea stones using lime mortar. Starting from the Monumental Fountain and extending in the northeast-southwest direction, 13 m of the terracotta funnel line within the study area was made more visible. The line made of terracotta pipes with lengths varying between 35 and 37 cm continues towards the southwest at the ground level of the Sanctuary Courtyard.
Theater Bath Street
The aim of the excavations is to reveal the Theatre Bath Street, which was partially exposed in the 2019 excavation season and cuts the Hierapolis Street in the east-west direction adjacent to the Monumental Fountain to the north, to determine the phases of use of the street and to clarify its function within the city by determining its relationship with the adjacent buildings.
The Theater Bath Street was named "Theater Bath Street" because it is the street that provides access to the Theater Bath starting from Hierapolis Street in the east and continuing towards the west. To the south of the street is the Sanctuary and the Monumental Fountain, and to the north is the cathedral, which has not yet been excavated.
In 2020, the excavations in the Theater Bath Street continued between the 8th and 53rd meters of the street from east to west, and the excavation of the approximately 2 m filling soil layer covering the street was completed and another 45 m section of the street towards the west was exposed. After the excavations, it was observed that the street continued westward in section and it is predicted that the street continued until the Theater Bath. There is a junction point on the street at the 41st m from east to west. From this point, it was determined that there was another 5 m wide street continuing north of the street and 3 m of the street was opened towards the north. Due to the topographic structure of the area and the stability of the structures under the soil, the northern street continues ascending towards the north and proceeds within the section. In the south direction of the aforementioned intersection point is the north gate of the Sanctuary, which provides access to the Sanctuary via the Theater Bath Street.
The width of Tiyatro Hamamı Street extending in east-west direction was measured as 7 m from inside to inside. The south of the street is bounded by the 70 cm thick north temenos wall of the Sanctuary, which was built with medium-sized coarse faceted travertine blocks, spolia broken marble fragments, small and medium-sized tea stones, 3 rows of bricks arranged horizontally and double rows of lime mortar. The north side of the street is bounded by the 80 cm thick cathedral south wall, which was built using mostly spolia, large-scale, flat-faced, finely faceted travertine blocks, but occasionally small and medium-sized tea stones, marble and brick fragments.
It was observed that the floor of the street was partially preserved with large travertine stones of varying sizes such as 60x80, 90x60, 160x110, 100x110, 120x70, 175x120 cm. The ground level varies due to the topographic structure of the area. The sewer line of Tiyatro Hamamı Street continues in the east-west direction along the street in the middle section of the street.
PROTECTION AND RESTORATION WORKS
The restoration and conservation works were carried out in line with the conservation and repair verdict taken within the international framework by restorers who are experts in their fields and who are listed in the excavation committee list. The works were carried out in three sections: restoration and conservation of architectural artifacts at the excavation site, restoration and conservation of marble sculptures in the excavation house restoration and conservation laboratory, and restoration and conservation of movable cultural assets.
In 2020, restoration and conservation works were carried out at the Monumental Fountain (Nymphaeum), Hierapolis Street and Latrina within the excavation and restoration program. Annual periodic maintenance works were carried out in the Arched Building, Tabernas and Early Byzantine Church 4.
Monumental Fountain
The restoration works at the Monumental Fountain were carried out on the broken and missing architectural blocks of the building. The types of architectural blocks that were completed are; architrave-frieze, architrave, frieze, geison, column base, column cap, column, postamented base and ceiling cassette.
Hierapolis Street East Portico
Restoration and conservation works were carried out on the colonnade and arch legs in the East Portico of Hierapolis Street. Since there are missing parts at the bottom of the upper drum of the column, it prevents the column from standing statically and these areas were completed. Since the original mortar under the base of the column lost its binding properties, the base was removed and the mortar underneath was cleaned. The pedestal was leveled and stabilized by using lead fragments of various sizes. The same process was repeated on columns 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 and 13 from south to north.
Latrina
Within the scope of the latrina restoration works, urgent intervention was required in this area due to the slipping of the seating stones from their original places over time and the cracking and fracture of some blocks. These works started in the northernseating row based on anastylosis and continued in the western seating row.
Arched Structure
The plaster remains on the north and south walls of the Arched Building were periodically maintained annually. Lichen formations were observed on the plaster surfaces due to climatic factors. The necessary restorative chemical mixtures were prepared and applied to the surface with soft-tipped brushes and cleaned. After the cleaning process, the surface was completely cleaned of the chemical using pure water.
Tabernae
Annual periodic maintenance of the frescoes on the walls of the tabernas was carried out. Dirt formation was observed on the surfaces of the frescoes due to atmospheric factors. The dirt on the surface was cleaned with the help of pure water and a sponge by lightly tamponing.
Early Byzantine Church 4
The frescoes on the north and south walls of the church were periodically maintained annually. Salinization was observed on the fresco surfaces due to climatic factors. The salts on the surface were cleaned by using the necessary restorative chemicals and then purified with pure water.