Structural elements with liturgic function found in the excavations of the Amorium Lower City Church

Located within the borders of Hisarköy, 12 km. east of Emirdağ District of Afyonkarahisar, the site of Amorium Ancient City was continuously inhabited since the 2000s B.C. in the Hittite, Phrygian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods. The Lower City Church, is situated in the city centre, to the southern skirts of modern Hisarköy. The church, which underwent different construction phases, consisted of three naves, had a basilical plan and was covered with a hipped roof in the Eary Period. The structure was re-constructed in the late 9th and early 10th centuries. In this period, the church was transformed into a domed-basilica after the piers were added to the church and a dome 10 meters in diameter was added to the center of the naos A total of 144 fragments of artifacts obtained through the excavations carried out in Church A between 1990-2009 and largely belonging to a liturgical organisation have been examined within the scope of this thesis. These fragments include such works as templon stylobate, baluster, baluster knob, templon \ ciborium column, octagonal pillar, templon \ ciborium capital, templon architrave, plate, templon plate top, ambo platform, ambo plate top, ambo plate, altar plate, altar table pillar, cathedral pillar and columnar. The identified pieces were examined by considering their material-technique, form, style and decoration features, hence dating suggestions were made by comparing them with similar examples in Byzantine art. In this direction, the work was brought to completion by establishing periodic connections between the arrangements of the different construction phases of the church and the works themselves. Keywords: Amorium, Byzantine, The Lower City Church, Liturgical İnstitutions