Examples of Phiale from the Basilica of St. John at Ephesus

Year 2021, Volume: 30 Issue: 1, 661 - 677, 15.05.2021

Sinan Mimaroğlu , Elif Karabacak

https://doi.org/10.29135/std.865615

Abstract

The excavation of the Ayasuluk Hill and the Basilica of St. John, which has a century of excavation history, beginning with the G. A. Sotiriou excavations from 1921, continues to present new data. This new data is at times obtained from new finds and is sometimes as a result of approaching finds previously unearthed from a new perspective. One of these appeared in a former olive oil workshop in a part of the western cross arm of the church, which was used as a workshop in the Turkish Period. In the east of the corridor between the west cross arm and the baptistery, the phiale, which was reused in an oil workshop, is only presented in studies in its final function. In a single publication, it was defined as a “font”, and no evaluation was made regarding its original function. However, the phiale in question should originally have had a very different function from its subsequent use, referring to the holiness of water in the church before being again put to a use that excluded of its original function. Similar practice in the near vicinity is also observed in the Virgin Mary Church of Ephesus. In our study, the phiale, which was found on Ayasuluk Hill, from one of the most important religious buildings of Western Anatolia during the Byzantine Period, and which was reused as a spolia in the same building, is introduced with its original function in the building determined from the available data, including examples from the literature. These issues are discussed and a general evaluation is made concerning the use of phiales in churches, and its place among similar practices and examples.
In addition to these, our opinions on the form and function of one phiale specimen found in Ephesus Archeology Museum and the third phiale specimen unearthed in church excavations are presented.
Although the first phiale sample evaluated in this study is not as large as phiale in the Ephesus Virgin Mary Church, it is large in size. We think that a phiale of this size may have been located in the atrium of the church. Although a postament located in the atrium of the church is large enough to be constructed with this phiale, there is no channel recess that can transmit water to the phiale from below. Therefore, although there is a strong possibility that it was used in the atrium, it is not possible to accurately determine the base and the area where the phiale is located with the data we have. It can be argued that this phiale, which was used for the olive oil workshop in the Turkish Period in the Church of St. John, was used in the building of the Iustinianus Period according to similar examples. The area where unearthed narrow, cylindrical and deep type phiale, which is the find of the Church of St. John is uncertain.
Another phiale example found in the Church of St. John is in the Ephesus Archeology Museum. This phiale, which has a small and circular channel in its center, is important with its inscription on it. In this inscription, it is written that the phiale was used as a vessel of holy water. it should have been used as a holy water vessel and constructed with a high base with its dimensions. Considering the dimensions of this phiale, which is smaller than our first example, and the importance of the Church of St. John for Christianity, we think that it was built for a smaller area. It is understood that Kosmas, mentioned in the inscription, had this phiale built for the Church of St. John as the chief assistant priest of the Theotokos Virgin Mary Church in Ephesus.
Third phiale example evaluated in the study is made of green breccia and is located in the north of the western cross arm of the church. Philae is very worn and broken. It is understood that this phiale, which is not in situ, was unearthed during old excavations and was used for different purposes in later periods. However, it is not known where this piale was unearthed during excavations. This phiale is quite thin compared to the phiale used as spolia in the olive oil workshop. Considering the form of the sample, which is mostly incomplete, we think that it may be a wide and shallow phiale like the other.

Keywords

Basilica of St. John, Ayasuluk, Ephesus, Phiale, Holy water

Ephesos Aziz Yuhanna Kilisesi’nden Phiale Örnekleri

Abstract

1921 yılında başlayan G.A. Sotiriou kazıları ile yaklaşık 100 yıllık bir kazı geçmişini ardında bırakan Ayasuluk Tepesi ve St.Jean Anıtı Kazısı, her geçen gün yeni veriler sunmaya devam etmektedir. Bu veriler kimi zaman yeni buluntulardan sağlanmakta, kimi zaman ise daha önce gün yüzüne çıkarılmış mimari verilere yeni bir bakış açısıyla yaklaşılması sonucu ortaya çıkmaktadır. Bunlardan biri kilisenin Türk Dönemi’nde işlik olarak kullanılan batı haç kolunun bir bölümünde, bir zeytinyağı işliğinde karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Batı haç kolu ile vaftizhane arasında yer alan koridorun doğusunda, devşirme olarak bir zeytinyağı işliğinde yeniden kullanılmış olan phiale, günümüze kadar yapılmış çalışmalarda yalnızca bu son işlevi ile yer almıştır. Tek bir yayında ise yalnızca bir havuz olarak tanımlanmış, orijinal işlevine ilişkin bir değerlendirme yapılmamıştır. Oysa söz konusu taş eleman burada yeniden, esas işlevi dışında kullanılmadan önce kilisenin içerisinde suyun kutsiyetine atıfta bulunularak günümüzde yer aldığı kurgudan çok farklı bir amaç için kullanılmış olmalıydı. Benzer uygulama yakın çevrede Ephesos Meryem Kilisesi’nde de görülmektedir. Çalışmamızda, Ayasuluk Tepesi’nde, Bizans Dönemi Batı Anadolu’sunun en önemli dini yapılarından olan Aziz Yuhanna Kilisesi’nde bulunan ve sonrasında aynı yapıda devşirme olarak kullanılmış olan phiale esas işlevi ile tanıtılarak, eldeki mevcut veriler ve literatür örnekleri ışığında yapıdaki kullanımı ile ilgili belirlediğimiz problemler tartışmaya açılacak ve çağdaşı olan benzer uygulamalar arasındaki yeri ve phialelerin kiliselerdeki kullanımları hakkında genel bir değerlendirme yapılacaktır.

Keywords

Ayasuluk,, St.Jean Kilisesi, Phiale, Efes, Aziz Yuhanna Kilisesi, Ayasuluk, Ephesos, Kutsal su

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