Kaunos Theater Fountain Building. Archeology and restitution - restoration project

In the Karian city of Kaunos, meeting the daily and agricultural needs of the community depended on the effective management of water, which was conceived to be a sacred resource. This dissertation argues that the monumental fountain of the Kaunos City Theatre significantly differed from its contemporaries in its architectural plan and water-distribution system. It also maintains that, if the future restoration of the fountain employs the "anastylosis" method, whereby the monument's restoration employs the original architectural elements to the greatest degree possible, its recovery will benefit the fields of archaeology and restoration alike. The monumental fountain, which has been discovered adjacent to the north-west wall encircling the ancient Kaunos City Theatre served, besides the theatre-goers, a large number of people who resided in the acropolis. The "PI-shaped" fountain, which was embedded within a 11.80-metre niche and topped by a single arch, was a monumental structure in "in-antis" design and had the dimensions of 10,12x6,40 m. Lack of architectural remains makes it difficult to tell with certainty what the fountain's upper structure looked like. Given its plan, however, the fountain seems to have been arranged in Doric style and covered with a roof similar to the relatively few yet familiar [daldirma hazneli] fountain buildings of ancient Greece and Anatolia. A special design feature transmitted water first to the fountain and then channelled it into the pool. Both the design of the fountain and the ceramics recovered from its archeological perimeter suggest that the structure was first built during the Classical period. This dissertation includes recommendations on the documentation and description of the monumental Kaunos City Theatre Fountain. Adopting a comparative approach to the structure's contemporaries, it also suggests methods and practices for the fountain's conservation, restoration, and restitution. While its function appears to have slightly shifted from one period to another, the Kaunos City Theatre Fountain has maintained its existence up until the present. Its recovery as a monument, even without functioning primarily as a fountain, promises to contribute significantly to the fields of both archaeology and restoration. This dissertation makes a case for the application of the anastylosis method as the most conducive approach in the fountain's recovery. Despite its relatively rare use as a method in Turkey, anastylosis can play a vital role in the post-excavation care, preservation, and maintenance of archaeological artifacts. It will also secure the sustainability and conservation of the monumentalKaunos City Theatre Fountain for posterity.