A108: Built Tomb

Christopher Ratté and Peter D. De Staebler (eds.). Aphrodisias V. The Aphrodisias Regional Survey (Verlag Philipp von Zabern: Darmstadt/Mainz, 2012). <http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/92493>

A108

Tombs4: Roman

Local Name: Aphrodisias, Southwest NecropolisLocal Information: Regional Survey 2001 no. SW3Latitude: 37.42.16.80Longitude: 28.42.58.86Elevation: 509mAxis: 70 degrees E/NEDimensions: W: 3.95m, L: 3.85m and 3.75 m, pres. H: 3.20mDescription: Simple vaulted tomb, with some superstructure surviving and architectural blocks nearby (though these may come most recently from the Southwest Church, C010). Two well preserved underground chambers, partially collapsed to east, and part of southern wall of superstructure; a slight mound rises above the eastern parts, while the field over the western parts are plowed. The two vaulted chambers, equal in terms of scale and workmanship, are aligned toward the east. Both are the same width (n-s 3.95 m), while the first room is slightly longer than the second (eastern: e-w 3.85 m; western: e-w 3.75 m). The western room is cleared to a maximum of 3.20 m below the vault. The entrance doorway and dromos are not preserved. The arched doorway between the two rooms is 0.66 m wide and at least 1.66 m high, and the wall between the rooms is 0.68 m thick. A narrow ledge (0.05 m) projects from the walls 2.60m below the vault and probably supported the cover slabs laid over built cists (none of the cist walls are visible). The ledge is visible on parts of all the walls in the western room (the eastern room is not cleared to this depth so cannot be confirmed). Two rectangular niches are in the western end wall (H: 0.55 m, W: 0.40 m, D: 0.45 m), about 0.95 m above the ledge. None of the cross walls are bonded with the vault walls, even below the ledge; the intrados of the vault is continuous over the dividing wall and the two end walls. The masonry throughout is careful and regular. The blocks tend to be split rather than carved, and on average are significantly longer an thinner than standard petit appareil blocks, up to 0.80 long but only 0.12 m high. The springing of the vault is nearly imperceptible, but the stones in the walls are thicker and shorter than in the vault. The arch over the doorway is built of tapered marble voussoirs, well finished with a point chisel (H: 0.33-0.34 m, W: 0.06 to 0.15 m; D: 0.16 to 0.31 m). The mortar beds are recessed by 0.03-0.07 m in the vault, while thicker and flush with the masonry below the ledge. Some of the courses are evened with shims. A 3.85 m long ashlar wall at ground level is part of the superstructure of the tomb. The six blocks (L: 0.44 to 1.19 m) exactly parallel the southern wall of the eastern room and the southern face of the wall is approximately 0.95 m south of the interior face of the chamber wall. Some architectural blocks that could be associated with the superstructure lie in the pit in front of the entrance. These include a fragment of a monolithic column of Yazır marble (pres H: 1.77 m), a white marble corner frieze block with vertical fluting (H: 0.30 m, L: 0.90 m, D: 0.72m), and a large threshold block (L: 1.60 m, D: 0.50 m, H: 0.30 m). In the surrounding field are many tile fragments and sherds including early and late Roman fine wares, though all of this, and the architectural blocks cold be more immediately associated with the Southwest Church immediately to the west.

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