The anonymous tomb at the Artemision of Ephesos

In the area of Ephesus, the architecture belonging to Turkish and Islamic period has not yet been researched in depth construction and structure-wise. More emphasis has been placed on the research of the monumental architecture of larger proportions and more visibility, and the smaller monuments in rural areas have mostly gone unnoticed. To day it is still difficult to locate some of these monuments, or to determine an exact number. This paper intends to utilize the documented information up to date and to determine the locations, names, and functions of as many monuments as possible, and to present a base for further research and conservation proposals focusing on individual monuments in the future. Written resources regarding the structures in the town, especially those of 14th century are very limited. In those resources it is observed that travellers who came into town were very impressed by the basilica of St. Jean which was converted to a mosque. It is a mutual point in the conveyed descriptions of the area that the town was prosperous and well maintained. The town experienced its most magnificent period after around 1360 AD when Isa Bey ascended to the throne. Many new structures were built along with the Isa Bey Mosque which was one of the most significant monuments of the beylik and the region. It is also known that not only İsa Bey himself, but his wife Azize Hatun and his son Musa Bey also contributed largely to the construction activities of the town. According to the Ottoman Foundation Registers which mostly date back to the 15th and 16th centuries, numerous masjids, masjids with zawiyas, zawiyas (small tekke), a madrassa, a darülhuffaz, and several hammams, some of which have not survived to the present day. The registers do not include information on the locations of the monuments which presents the problem of naming the monuments after locating them, due to the lack of inscriptions on the monuments in the present day except for that of the Isa Bey Mosque. Niemann states that the town has 14 mosques, five or six hammams and numerous tombs in his research published in 1906. In the present day, it is possible to identify eight masjids, six hammams and five tombs. Alongside these, two structures recorded as hammams, three recorded as tombs, and two more recorded as an imaret (soup kitchen) and a Han (roadhouse) exist. In addition, there is also one fountain visible today next to the so-called Karakolyanı Masjid. However, based on old archives, Telci mentions the existence of a group of fountains in the area of Artemision which have survived up to 1930s or 1940s. These monuments are mostly clustered around the Ayasuluk Fort, and the west and south sides of Ayasuluk hill, making it possible to reason that the town center was indeed this area which also includes the St. Jean's Basilica and Artemision. It is also possible to infer that these structures stayed relatively intact until present day, due to the fact that the modern town of Selçuk was not built over this historical center which was by then mostly swamped or had become an agricultural zone, and some of the structures were reused by the field owners as barns or storage areas etc. Despite all the regulations and sanctions regarding safeguarding of heritage, it is possible to observe that some structures are still in such use. Ottoman Foundation Registers state that there are three tombs in the town, despite the fact that five can be found. According to Telci this might be due to two of the tombs being components of zawiya complexes in the town. The Ayasuluk Restoration Project run by T.C. General Directorate of Foundations and Austrian Archaeology Institute, Directorship of Ephesus Excavations aims to conserve and restore 14 Turkish Period monuments of the town. So far, the excavation, documentation and proposals for conservation regarding the Ahmed Paşa Tomb and Anonymous Tomb in Artemision of Ephesus have been completed within the scope of the project, and research is ongoing regarding hammam structure referred to as Isabey Hammam, and the Anonymous Hammam 4. During the brief land survey performed at the starting stage of the project, some remains of a structure -which can be dated to middle ages according to the construction type- have been discovered to the immediate west of Artemision. Wider studies on this structure may possibly end up with the discovery of the fountains mentioned above. It is very likely that more buildings will be discovered in future researches. In this study, firstly the history of Ephesus and its environs, and the evolution of the city's architectural texture in parallel to cultural and political events were examined briefly. The physical structure of the city during the Beylik period was attempted to be displayed according to resources of the period, more recent resources and current architectural evidences. Ephesus was a city that was widely visited due to it being a harbor city which maintained its importance up until the 17th century and its location on the Jerusalem pilgrimage route. The memoirs of the visitors have played an important role in shaping this part of the study. In the third section of the study, the focus has been on the general features of the Western Anatolian Beyliks architecture. The differences and the reasons for the differences of this architecture, forming the transition to the Classical Ottoman in a region absorbing the Hellenistic and Roman heritage as opposed to the eastern regions were examined. The development of Tomb architecture and the features of tombs in Beylik period were briefly discussed and all the tombs of the town were more elaborately presented, also supplemented with drawings. In the next section, the main subject of the study, the tomb at the Ephesus Artemision was elaborated. First, the area surrounding the structure was described, also with regard to the findings from previous excavations, afterwards the structure was documented additionally utilizing drawings, models and photographic methods. The usage and construction periods of the tomb and its surroundings were examined through this documentation. Decorative elements, tombstones and spolias were presented under additional headings. The structure was comparatively examined with other structures in the town and other Beylik period structures of the region, with regard to its location in its significant setting. In the course of assessment of its period additions and its original state, other structures which offer similarities have been presented as examples. The suggestions for the safeguarding of the structure were also briefly offered in the same section. As has been mentioned in this article, even only in the last century, four monuments have been completely lost, and their memories faded. The remaining monuments are losing their architectural details and features every day due to on-going decay, and their authenticities in restorations based on speculations, due to lack of documentation and research – that is to say, if they are ever subjected to restorations. Ephesus Excavations, aims at researching, excavating, documenting and preparing conservation proposals for such monuments, as it did for the Anonymous Tomb located near Ephesos Artemision. Such work would be the only method to transfer the knowledge of Ayasuluk and these monuments 'correctly' to future generations.