D118a: Geyre Cemetery Tomb 2a, "Bishop's Tomb"
Aphrodisias Regional Survey
2007-06-01
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Citation
Page reference: Christopher Ratté and Peter D. De Staebler (eds.). Aphrodisias V. The Aphrodisias Regional Survey (Verlag Philipp von Zabern: Darmstadt/Mainz, 2012), 362, 377; 362 - Book catalogue no.: --; Inscriptions cat. 16. <http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/92839>
Other Identifiers
D118a
Subjects
Tombs Inscriptions 5: Late Roman
Description
Local Name: Aphrodisias, Northeast Necropolis Local Information: Old Geyre Cemetery in use at least up to 2003 Latitude: 37.42.41.6 Longitude: 28.43.50.2 Elevation: 532m Axis: South (vault); east (doorway) Dimensions: W: 1.55m, D: 2.25m Description: Two independent simple vaulted tombs (a: "Bishop's Tomb", b: "trapezoidal tomb"). Both well preserved; both entirely cleared by Museum. The tombs open onto a shared quadrilateral forecourt (approximately 1.70 m n-s by up to 1.55 m e-w). They have no walls in common. The western (118a) should predate the eastern (118b) since the west wall of the latter blocks the end of the inscription on the lintel of the former; they may be roughly contemporary, however. The full thickness of two walls of Tomb 118a is known; the southern is 0.64 m thick, and the western is 0.72 m thick. No superstructure of either tomb is visible. The western tomb (D118a) is a regular vaulted chamber, 2.25m N-S by 1.55m E-W. Although the vault is oriented N-S, entrance is through the southern end of the eastern wall (H: 1.20m, W: 0.8 m). The threshold is missing, but the lintel, though broken, is preserved in place and inscribed "Theopropius, bishop. He lives." with flanking chi-rho monograms (ALA 166). A pivot is preserved on the north end (Diam: 0.09 m, D: 0.06 m); from the outside, the door swung inward and toward right. The masonry of the walls is quite irregular, and many of the thick mortar beds are scored. Some sections are in coursed petit appareil, but other areas contain re-used blocks; these include two fragments of a sarcophagus lid at the spring point of the vault in the northwest corner, and four scattered petit appareil blocks with clamp cuttings for the attachment of revetment. A square niche (H: 0.52m, W: 0.45m) is centered in the upper part of the north wall. The heavily mortared vault is constructed entirely of long split marble blocks (L: 0.40-0.88m, H: 0.27-0.38m, W: 0.06-0.11m); the structure is most clearly visible at the southern end where it is broken away. Plaster is preserved on some sections of the walls, especially along the eastern wall, across most of the vault, and within the area of the cists. The plaster contains many long narrow cavities, perhaps from decayed straw. ** The floor of the doorway is 2.05m below the crest of the vault. Below this level are two layers of cists; the upper continues 0.70m below the floor level, and the lower reaches 1.27 below the floor. A shallow indentation (H: 0.09-0.10 m, D: 0.07-0.10 m) cut into the blocks of the north wall marks the original floor level and the upper level of the cists, and is likely served to support the cover slabs. The level of the lower cists is marked in the north and south walls by a shallow shelf that projects 0.12-0.16 m from the plane of the wall. Two cross walls divide the lowest area into three cists (southern: L: 1.73 m, W: 0.56 m; middle: L: 1.68 m, W: 0.45 m; northern: L: 2.00 m, W: 0.44 m). The wall between the southern two is built of mortared rubble (W: 0.28-0.31 m), while the wall between the northern (W max: 0.23 m) is made up in great part of re-used blocks, including a vertically split Corinthian capital (H orig: 0.64 m). The northern cist is longer than the others since it extends eastward under the eastern wall of the tomb. Several fragments of bone are seen in the bottom of the northern cist.
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