MİLET HUMEİTEPE'DEKİ DEMETER KUTSAL ALANI'NINDAN ELDE EDİLEN BULGULAR (HMBNFG)

The project focuses on the organization and performance in the so-called Demeter sanctuary on the Humeitepe of Miletus, which was excavated in the 1970s and 1980s under the direction of Wolfgang Müller-Wiener. A large part of the finds have so far remained unprocessed and unpublished and will be presented as part of the project.

Sandra Golling, Miletgrabung

With its location at the northern end of the peninsula, the temple of Demeter shaped the image of the ancient city both from the land side and for the seafarers coming from the sea. Based on the votive finds examined so far, the cult activities on the Humeitepe can be divided into three phases: According to this, cult activities began during reconstruction after the destruction of the Persians in the 5th century BC, but without architectural expansion. During the Hellenistic period, the cult intensified in parallel with monumentalization through the construction of the temple. In the imperial period, the cult on the Humeitepe experienced a gradual decline. Remains of the temenos wall can still be seen today. Within the temenos are the remains of the temple, as well as a small altar, a bothros and a building cautiously addressed as a treasure house. To the southeast outside the temenos area, a cave was excavated, whose exact connection to the sanctuary is also being investigated as part of the project. The attribution of the cult to Demeter was made within the framework of the investigation so far based on the find composition.

The results of the excavations under Wolfgang Müller-Wiener were published in the form of preliminary reports. In this context, an article on the terracottas and another on the miniature hydriai from the so-called Demeter sanctuary were published. After that, only a small proportion of the small finds were examined in comprehensive publications. The extensive ceramic finds from the Demeter sanctuary, however, have so far neither been documented nor further investigated. An evaluation of the entire material regarding the ritual practices cultivated in the sanctuary is still pending.

Sandra Golling

The two largest groups of finds are pottery and terracottas. These two groups and the other finds (as glass, metal, bones and coins, as well as epigraphic and other finds) will be examined in terms of cult activity.

To be able to put the cult activities into a larger context, the surrounding finds will be examined, and geophysical results will be used, but also sanctuaries outside Miletus will be consulted for comparison. To examine the space in which the actors were able to perform practices and rites within the framework of the cult, the integration of the sanctuary into the urban space will be examined as part of the project. The urban space and the accessibility to the sanctuary could prescribe the actions of the participants. Through the formation of the cult and the architectural shaping of the sanctuary, the urban space was also influenced in return. The exact effects on the urban space will therefore be examined as well. But the structures within the sanctuary will also be examined, which on the one hand can offer statements about the activities in the sanctuary and on the other hand provide the architectural framework for the cult and the rites.

Sandra Golling

The analysis of the finds is carried out within the framework of the question. For this purpose, the recorded finds are placed in context according to their function to be able to reconstruct the activities within the sanctuary. To examine the organization of cult activities, the drinking and eating utensils, but also the storage and cooking ceramics will be used, considering their chronological classification and function in cult activities. For the investigation of performance, the cult utensils and votives are evaluated in their function within the framework of ritual acts and as media of self-dramatization of the cult participants. A statistical evaluation of the finds in their chronological classification and function group is carried out to assess a possible development of the organization and performance in the sanctuary.

Overall, the project aims to close an important research gap for the urban area of Miletus and its sacred landscape, especially for the period of the reformation of the city and society after the destruction of the Persians. Also, the understanding of Classical Hellenistic sanctuaries and their cult operations is to be expanded based on this case study. The catalogue will also be used as a material basis for the study of the pottery in Miletus, which has only recently been the subject of in-depth investigation.