Das Hanghaus 2 in Ephesos

With the fascicle VIII, 6 of the FiE the first volume of the publication of the Terrace House 2 in Ephesos is being submitted. Following a general introduction of the whole building a preliminary outline of the research history is given. Initially a lifespan from the 1st to the 7th century AD - analogous to the dating of the Terrace House 1 - was assumed for the insula which was excavated from 1962 to 1985 by Hermann Vetters. The analysis of housing unit 4 is divided into three parts, apart from the editor thirteen specialists account for the articles: the first chapter covers the materials, the building techniques, the description of the building and the reconstruction of the building phases. The second chapter is about the décor and discusses the wall-painting, the graffiti, the marble-panelling, the mosaics, the architectural parts, the fountains etc. The third chapter deals with the archaeological diagnosis and the findings, here the stratigrapically retrieved inventory is analysed, i.e. the sculpture, pottery, coins, glass, finds of metal and bone, terracotta and marble equipment. Afterwards the functions of the individual rooms are discussed and the results of the publication are summarized and evaluated. An extensive table-section contains scaled views of all the walls, plans and 3D-models of the building phases and documentation of the findings. The focal points of the work lie in a comprehensive presentation of the building diagnosis, an analysis of the building phases and the allocation of the décor to these phases. With the evaluation and the consolidation of the findings to the destruction horizon and to the building phases an absolute chronological framework could be established. As a result four building phases can be determined: in building phase I (beginning of the 1st century AD) housing unit 4 was erected as a peristyle-house. It was initially much larger and extended 7.5 m further to the north. In building phase II (beginning of the 2nd century AD) unit 4 was made smaller through the erection of the marble hall 31 of housing unit 6. In this phase the representative peristyle-hall was adorned by a red-grounded painting with images of Sokrates and Urania and scenes of an Achilleus cycle. A water fountain decorated with sculptures was situated in the centre of the hall. In building phase III (middle of the 2nd century AD) unit 4 was once more reduced through the erection of the basilica 8 in housing unit 6. This construction led to the creation of a pilaster hall with partially closed walls. The hall was decorated with a for Ephesos unique garden painting which provided - together with the existing water fountain - the impressive atmosphere for a summer-triclinium. In building phase IV (ca. 230 AD) almost all the rooms were redecorated, presumably following a destruction. In a last building phase IV` the walls of hall 21 were closed. The evidence of two upper stories in housing unit 4 containing equivalent or respectively more significant representative rooms and by no means private rooms for the family and the servants alters the previous notions of housing. The new chronology proves without doubt that the Terrace House 2 was destroyed by an earthquake in the third quarter of the 3rd century AD ending the utilisation for housing to the greatest possible extent. This could effectively be confirmed in housing unit 4. The evaluation of the graffiti, which contained household bills but also in some measure the guestbook of the house, and in particular the inventory of finds provide a deep insight into the living culture of the East.