Plastic arts of the Ancient City of Tlos

The doctoral thesis titled "Plastic Arts of the Ancient City of Tlos" focuses on the sculptural, portraiture, relief, and sculptural pedestal elements of the city. The examined artworks within the thesis belong to the 2017 excavation season and earlier periods. Additionally, works that entered the Fethiye Museum inventory through surface surveys and acquisitions via purchase or difficult procurement have been incorporated into the study. Sculptural works have been comprehensively analyzed in terms of typological, iconographic, and stylistic aspects, considering them as cohesive entities. The catalog includes works spanning a broad period from the Early Classical Period to the middle of the Byzantine Period. The contemporaneity of the works with examples from the identified periods also provides typological, iconographic, and stylistic coherence. The parallelism of the findings from the Classical Period in the city with Lycian funerary art has been discerned. Furthermore, the works from the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods in the city exhibit contemporaneity with examples from their respective periods. The presence of copies and variants of famous works of sculptors from that era has been established in the city. Examples of works reflecting the distinctive characteristics of the period, which can be called as the fashion of the time, have also been identified. In addition to sculptural works, the sculptural pedestals in the city have been studied within the thesis. It is understood that these pedestals are associated with bronze sculptures. Despite the limited number of bronze sculptures, the numerical density of artworks is noteworthy. Besides the sculptural works identified in Tlos, the density of works that can be supported by sculptural pedestals is also remarkable. Another important aspect of the city examined in the thesis pertains to materials, workshops, and production. Issues such as the absence of workshops and production that cannot be identified in the city pose a significant challenge within the Lycian region. Considering the evaluated works in this thesis, it is accurate to mention the use of local materials and local craftsmanship throughout every period in the city. Additionally, the importation of materials and sculptors to the city as needed has been confirmed through marble analysis. It would be accurate to assert that a city with a rich sculptural history should have been involved in production during the Roman Period. The comprehensive evaluation of the sculptural works of the Ancient City of Tlos as a whole has been a significant endeavor for understanding regional plasticity. The catalog provides new data for the Classical Period of the region. The Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Period works suggest the necessity of reexamining sculptural activities in the region with new perspectives. Furthermore, the study of works beyond the Classical Period in the city will serve as a valuable resource for future research. Keywords: Lycia, Tlos, Sculpture, Relief, Material