Attic Sarcophagi from Ephesos

The volume focuses on the Attic sarcophagi decorated with reliefs which were produced at Athens and imported to Ephesos in the Roman province of Asia Minor (Turkey). The topic stems from a project comprising all the sarcophagi found at Ephesos which was funded by the FWF (20002006, project leader M. Aurenhammer, collaborator M. Heinz). Due to the large body of material, the study of the Attic sarcophagi was transferred to C. Kintrup and funded by the Austrian Archaeological Institute. The aim of the study was a complete new documentation of the Attic sarcophagi. Their number rose to 48, thanks also to the finds uncovered during the projects of the Ephesos Museum in Selçuk. Due to their importance, the documentation starts with the two sarcophagi from the tomb of Claudia Antonia Tatiane from the Western necropolis featuring battle scenes and battles between Greeks and Amazons. The other sarcophagi are arranged according to the subjects of their reliefs and specific sarcophagi types. 9 fragments can be ascribed to a local workshop imitating Attic sarcophagi, due to their material, workmanship and motifs. W. Prochaska (Montanuniversität Leoben) analyzed the marbles of these fragments. The reliefs of the Attic sarcophagi show the Greek mythological subjects preferred in the Attic workshops. Images of the world of Dionysos and Eros dominate in the extant sarcophagi from Ephesos. Especially important is the Amazon sarcophagus from the Western necropolis, one of the main examples of a specific type of Amazon sarcophagi. The sarcophagus of the high ranking Roman official Aristides set up in his sister Tatianes tomb and the cited Amazon sarcophagus show many figured relief scenes typical for the years around 200 AD. The Achilles sarcophagus transferred to England (Woburn Abbey) was created in the 2nd quarter of the 3rd century AD. Its main relief figures remain inactive in contrast to the active secondary figures. The Hippolytos sarcophagus from the Western necropolis excells as a work of late Attic sculptors of sarcophagi. The chronological distribution of the Attic sarcophagi imported to Ephesos matches the chronology of the production of the Attic workshops with a peak in the 3rd century AD. Unique are the fragments of an Attic columnar sarcophagus, unknown so far in Attic workshops, but prominent in workshops of Asia Minor. Obviously a transfer of sarcophagus types was also possible from Asia Minor to Athens. The distribution of the findspots of Attic and locally produced sarcophagi at Ephesos is significant. Almost a dozen examples were found in the cemeteries, only two fragments were discovered in the city. The main part of the sarcophagi were built into Byzantine walls in the Basilica of St. John and in the South Gate of the fortification of this area.