Temenos and Territory. Economic Power and Social Impact of the Sanctuary of Artemis in Ephesos in the Roman Imperial Era

The project proposed is dedicated to the transformation of an ancient sanctuary during Roman and Late Antique periods, with a view on the Medieval phases of use. The traditional archaeological examination of ancient sites where religion was practised has concentrated for a long time on mythological questions as well as ultimately on the rituals themselves as a key to the understanding of religion. In archaeological research this approach is reflected in the concentration on the cult buildings in sanctuaries as well as on votive deposits. The Artemision at Ephesos offers a perfect example, being one of the largest and most famous sanctuaries of antiquity. Since its rediscovery 125 years ago the consecutive temples and their related altars formed the focal point of archaeological research, whereas the surrounding sacred temenos, once densely developed, remained uninvestigated. However recent research gives evidence of the multidimensional character of the extra-urban sanctuary in the Roman Imperial Era with the Temple of Artemis as part of a complex of buildings corresponding to its social, economical and religious significance. The Artemision at Ephesos in the Roman imperial era therefore represents the almost perfect set of preconditions for investigating Roman religious practices in their socio-cultural context, as well as the organisation and infrastructure of a sanctuary and its economic power yet, furthermore, also to understand the sanctuary in a time-space-model from a cultural- geographical perspective. Apart from traditional researches on sanctuaries, the proposed project links up with historical, archaeological, architectonic and geographical data in order to understand the organism of the Artemision at Ephesos from a spatial, chronological and socio-cultural perspective. It is not the sacred buildings and votive deposits which form the focus of the investigation, but rather the sacred precinct (temenos) and the properties of the sanctuary (territorium) as infrastructural facilities. Moreover also the Late Antique history of the sanctuary has scarcely been investigated, a history which culminated in its closure and abandonment. The proposed YIRG-Project is breaking new ground with the analysis of an ancient sanctuary by the interweaving specifically oriented in an interdisciplinary manner, of humanistic and scientific disciplines, extending over all phases and aspects of the project. The significance of the YIRG goes far beyond Ephesos research, but opens up new perspectives for the Austrian research landscape by giving an important new stimulus to the Austrian scientific landscape, due to the incorporation of internationally renowned specialists in the area of "Religious Studies". Lilli Zabrana (Archaeology, Architecture, Coordinator), Vera Hofmann (Ancient History, Epigraphy), Verena Fugger (Religious Studies, Late Antiquity) are the main researcher of this project; Pedro Gonçalves as research associate is responsible for the geoarchaeological analysis.

From 2019-2023, research at the Austrian Archaeological Institute, funded by the FWF Zukunftskolleg, focused on the processes of change at the ancient sanctuary of Artemis in Ephesus in Roman times, late antiquity and the subsequent medieval periods. By linking historical, archaeological, architectural and geographical data, significant new insights were gained, focusing in particular on the spatial design around the temple. It was possible to prove that a Doric hall was erected around 200 BC which surrounded the temple on three sides. The enclosed structure of the surrounding hall completely changes the spatial perception of the late classical temple and provided a protected exhibition space for paintings, murals and statues by well-known artists. Announcements, edicts and awards were also carved in stone on the back wall of the hall for public viewing. The hall had to make way for a monumental new roman building to the north-east of the altar as early as the 1st century AD. Structural changes of this scale in close proximity to the temple reflect the changing balance of power in the Artemision and allow conclusions to be drawn about the imperial influence on the building program in the internationally important sanctuary of Artemis. What happened to the extensive properties after the official closure of the sanctuary and the dissolution of the Artemision administration in late antiquity? It is known that from Constantine the Great onwards, the property of the temples generally passed into imperial ownership, which led to a drastic change of political actors. Finally, the old marble structures of the Ephesian Artemision were released by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century AD as a resource for his own large construction project of a cross-domed church in the immediate vicinity, used as a quarry and systematically removed. A large proportion of the marble components were reworked and reused in the nearby Basilica of St. John and the Selçuk Aquaeduct, which was built at the same time. Rather than the frequently interpreted symbolic victory of Christianity over the pagan cults, the focus seems to have been on the economical use of resources. The geoarchaeological fieldwork in the form of core drillings investigated the question of when and to what extent the sanctuary was overlaid by alluvial layers after the end of cultic activities. The results show that it was only after the exploitation of the building resources in Byzantine times that an elevation of the level was observed, which then built up continuously and finally covered the entire sacred precinct to a height of up to 8 meters. As a result, the location of the famous sanctuary was forgotten in modern times and only rediscovered in the 1870s by John Turtle Wood.