The paper presents some of the results of archaeological surveys carried out in recent years in the urban area and the territory around Hierapolis in Phrygia, in the context of the research activities of the Italian Archaeological Mission. The new data make it possible to shed light on the problem of the supply of building materials for the construction of the city between the imperial and the proto-Byzantine periods. Systematic research in the territory has made it possible to identify numerous ancient quarries located at short distance from the urban area, until now almost completely unknown. These mining areas supplied the construction sites of the city with white marble, alabaster, a typically local multicolored breccia , and travertine. Investigations within the city and especially those carried out along the ring of proto-Byzantine city walls indicated that, during the major transformation of Hierapolis following the earthquake of the late fourth century AD, construction sites for restoration as well as those for new construction were both characterized by the systematic reuse of building materials. These reused materials came from various monuments damaged by the earthquake and dismantled either because they were abandoned outside the walls, or because they were non-functional in the new Christian city. The construction of the walls is an example of this changed situation: the analysis of this building project has shown the systematic reuse of materials from necropolis and from various demolished monuments, including the North Theater, the North Agora, and the two sections of the so-called Frontinus' Street left outside the walls both south and north of the city.
HIERAPOLIS DI FRIGIA, DALLE CAVE AI CANTIERI DI DEMOLIZIONE: L'APPROVVIGIONAMENTO DI MATERIALI LAPIDEI NELLA CITTÀ DI ETÀ IMPERIALE E PROTO-BIZANTINA
G Scardozzi
2010
Abstract
The paper presents some of the results of archaeological surveys carried out in recent years in the urban area and the territory around Hierapolis in Phrygia, in the context of the research activities of the Italian Archaeological Mission. The new data make it possible to shed light on the problem of the supply of building materials for the construction of the city between the imperial and the proto-Byzantine periods. Systematic research in the territory has made it possible to identify numerous ancient quarries located at short distance from the urban area, until now almost completely unknown. These mining areas supplied the construction sites of the city with white marble, alabaster, a typically local multicolored breccia , and travertine. Investigations within the city and especially those carried out along the ring of proto-Byzantine city walls indicated that, during the major transformation of Hierapolis following the earthquake of the late fourth century AD, construction sites for restoration as well as those for new construction were both characterized by the systematic reuse of building materials. These reused materials came from various monuments damaged by the earthquake and dismantled either because they were abandoned outside the walls, or because they were non-functional in the new Christian city. The construction of the walls is an example of this changed situation: the analysis of this building project has shown the systematic reuse of materials from necropolis and from various demolished monuments, including the North Theater, the North Agora, and the two sections of the so-called Frontinus' Street left outside the walls both south and north of the city.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
