Architectural sculpture pieces of church a in the ancient city of Andriake

The ancient city of Andriake is located 4.7 km southwest of Demre (Myra) in Antalya Province. The most important significance of Andriake is its role as a harbor settlement. The settlement, which is an important intermediate port in the Mediterranean due to its strategic location, has remained an important trade center for centuries throughout the region. The harbour town was a destination used by pilgrims, who wanted to visit the region's well-known saint, St. Nicholaos. The settlement was developed according to the needs of the inhabitants' social, cultural and commercial activities; among them a total of six churches belonging to the Early Byzantine period- including the three-naved basilica, Church A. The excavations of Church A were completed in the year 2015, with additional structures uncovered between the years 2016 and 2018. This thesis examines 178 stone works unearthed in Church A which date back to the Byzantine period. Solving the functions and issues related to dating of the works were attempted as well. The stone works in the catalog were compared with their parallels in terms of function, form, motif, style, material, and composition. The presence of a local style belonging to the region was investigated in the works along with the such comparisons listed above. The sculptural finds bear the characteristics of Lycian stone works in terms of motif, style, and material features. It is possible to see their parallels within a wide geographical nature extending to regions around Mediterranean such as Libya, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, especially Greece and Cyprus. The examination of the decorations, materials, measurements, and the comparative analysis between buildings concludes that the sculptural finds of Church A, mostly date to the 5th and 6th centuries.