KIBYRA THOLOS NYMPHAEUM (ROUND FOUNTAIN)

 

The round fountain structure decorated with columns, embossed friezes and sculptures was unearthed during the 2016 excavations in the city square functioning as a social and cultural gathering area on the level of Terrace III of the Agora.

 The structure consists of a round body with a water system laid in the center, formed with blockwork, and two circular pools, one inside and one outside, surrounding it. The central structure is covered with a conical roof carried by columns. The fountain, which was apparently built for the first time after the earthquake of 23 AD, has three different phases of use: In its first phase of use, it consists of a single pool and a circular body with a central water system, and a second pool was probably added in the late second and early third centuries AD. Although it is understood that the roof of the fountain collapsed and was extensively damaged in the 417 AD earthquake; archaeological data show that the structure was used with the same function in the Late Eastern Roman Period, probably until the end of the VII century AD, after some renovations. The excavations revealed that the building was not only a fountain (nymphaion), but also a castellum that provided water distribution to its immediate surroundings; and a visual water monument decorated with sculptures, columns and architrave-friezes with girlanded architraves carrying the conical roof. Due to its location, it was placed in the busiest square of the city, visible to those coming to the Agora from the direction of the Theater and Odeion, as well as from the direction of the Stadion.

The diameter of the structure, together with the stone drainage troughs surrounding the outer round pool, is 14.91 meters in total, and its estimated height should have been approximately 8 meters with the conical roof covering only the central body through which the water system passes. In its current state after the restoration was completed, it is 6.76 meters high. The thick-walled main funnels supplying water to the fountain, which only had a central cylindrical body and a single pool in Phase I, were made of terracotta. The water from the ancient spring in the Böğrüdelik plateau was poured into the first pool through six marble statues between the supporting columns in the central platform. Only two of these statues were recovered during the excavations, depicting Heracles reclining on a lion's pelt and Dionysus the Younger reclining on a panther's pelt. According to the traces on the outer pool, there should have originally been twelve bronze statues on the outer pool. Unfortunately, no trace of them was found.

The restoration project prepared for the Nymphaeum, which was approved by the decision of the Antalya Regional Board for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage dated 30.07.2021 and numbered 12576, was carried out by the Kibyra Excavation Team between August and October 2022. The restored structure was raised to its feet and water from the ancient spring was poured, thus restoring it to its original function two thousand years after its first construction.

KIBYRA BASILICAL PLANNED CHURCH

    The Basilical Planned Church, located just above the Kibyra Stadion, is the largest religious building of the Eastern Roman period city, measuring 20.00 x 48.00 m from exterior to exterior. This church has a basilica plan with three naves and a triconchos (clover-shaped) apse. The central apse has an altar and synthronon, while the pastophorion rooms are located behind the side apses. The three rooms to the south of the basilica and the rooms next to it are burial chambers. In the first room in the east, an altar and a relicer were found inside the altar. In the other rooms, burials were made in terracotta sarcophagi under the floor. In front of the basilica is a landing added later. From here, the narthex (the covered front space at the entrance of the church) is entered through four doors, two at the front and one on each side. The floor is paved with opus sipicatum (rectangular pieces of terracotta/tile arranged side by side to form the spica (spike) motif that gives the floor its name) decorated with different geometric ornaments. Entered through three doors from the narthex is the naos section (the place where the congregation gathers in basilicas consisting of the central and side naves). The naos is divided into three naves by colonnades (spaces within the naos, placed perpendicular to the apse, separated from each other by columns or pillars). During the excavations, it was observed that the floor of the central nave was paved with marble slabs reclaimed from Roman Imperial Period buildings. The floor of the side naves, which are separated by colonnades from Roman Imperial buildings, is paved with opus spicatum. At the eastern end of the naos is the bema (a raised space with an altar separated from the naos by parapets and accessible only to priests). The bema is surrounded by a buttressed tempo (a parapeted section separating the naos from the altar room). In the center of this area, traces of the etching of the metal doors on the stone are still visible. A four-legged altar table was excavated in the center of the area. In the central apse, there is a stepped Synthronon (stone or wooden seating benches placed inside the apse). To the north and south of the main apse, two rooms were exposed. These rooms are called "pastophorion". The room to the north, where bread and wine were prepared, is the "prothesis" room. The room to the south, where liturgical objects or vestments were kept, is called "diakonikon". To the south of the basilica are the burial chambers, which seem to have been planned together with the building. In the first room, which is accessed through the diaconicon room and paved with marble, an altar is observed to the east of the row of three opposite columns. During the excavations, a silver relicer (objects in different forms made for placing relics belonging to holy people) was found inside this altar. This room and the rooms to its west were used as burial areas. Fifty-five terracotta sarcophagi placed under the floors of the rooms were found during the excavations. Architectural fragments, ceramic vessels, lamps, coins and medallions were found inside the basilical planned church with triconchos apse. The dating of the building is based on its plan with triconchos apse, which is not very common in Anatolia, and it is thought that it was built in the 5th-6th century AD after the 417 AD earthquake, which was the second largest earthquake that the city suffered according to ancient sources.