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x. completed project: Pergamon Building Z |
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The protective shelter over the Roman mosaics LocationThe building was excavated in 1990-1993 as part of the city excavation. Planning and building of the shelter began in 1995. The restored building with the shelter was officially handed over to the public on 8.8.2004. The project ist part of the Pergamon excavation and is supervised by the Istanbul Branch of the German Institute of Archaeology. |
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History
Position and HistoryOn the Acropolis of Pergamon the city was enlarged from about 180-160 BC under the reign of the prominent king, Eumenes II. The old city wall was abandoned and close to it on the steep slope in the south the important construction units of the Gymnasium and the Sanctuary of Demeter, which are still well-preserved, were built (Fig. Plan). Both units are not parallel to each other but stand at an angle because of the lay of the land on the Acropolis. Exactly at this angle a big public building of peristyle type was erected at the same time. It is a building with a pillared court surrounded by many rooms and halls. The side length of the complete edifice is 40m. Since the building was situated at a steep hillside it had to be erected in terrassed form. The difference in height between the very bottom of the wall corner at the slope and the floor of the ground floor alone is 14m. Above that two storeys of about 5m height each and additionally a tile covered roof were built. The substance of the edifice was enormous. We do not know exactly the purpose of this building. It was definitely not a private house but a public building, probably the Prytaneion, a kind of state guest house for Pergamon. |
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Objectives
Architectural Phases / The Concept of the ShelterWe may picture the first phase of Building Z as a rectangle with a deep niche (Fig. Phase 1). The well-dressed wall blocks suggest a date toward the apex of the Hellenistic period at the beginning of the 2nd cent. BC. This original structure most probably served cult purposes and may well have been associated with the Sanctuary of Demeter (erected at approximately the same juncture). Then in the mid-second century BC the building was enlarged; terracing was employed to form an 'L'-shaped courtyard (Fig. Phase 2), and towards the end of this century, the eastern and southern wings were added to form an atrium and complete the peristyle court (Fig. Phase 3). At this time a small annex was appended at the northeast as well. The structure had at this juncture reached its full bloom, which continued well into the Roman period. The interior saw still further alteration: thermal baths were installed in the northeastern annex in the early first century AD; and in the first half of the second century, a thorough renovation of the interior introduced the mosaic pavements (Fig. Phase 4). Destruction came unfortunately not long afterwards, apparently with the earthquake of 178 AD, after which most of the structure was abandoned. The late Byzantine settlement that gradually covered the ruins of Building Z during the 12th through 14th centuries made use of only a few wall fragments of the ancient structure. This later settlement seems to have represented a small community grouped about a chapel and cemetery laid out just to the northeast of Building Z (Fig. Phase 5). Following the Ottoman conquest of Pergamon in 1326, the settlement was abandoned and fell into ruins. The steep slope on which Building Z was located resulted in a remarkably better preservation of certain parts of the edifice. Whereas much of the lower story in the northern half of the structure-with many of its interior fittings-remained protected under a deep layer of debris from the collapse of the upper story, the southern part remained exposed to severe erosion; in places no more than foundations survived. It was this situation that prompted the concept of the shelter (Fig. Phase 6), designed to assure further protection of the Roman mosaics and Hellenistic stucco décor. Outside the shelter remain only traces of walls; these have been reinforced and partially reconstructed-just enough to clarify the outlines of the original structure at first glance (Fig. Plan Building Z). Within the shelter, the walls have been restored to a height of 4.70 m above ground level (the approximate height of the first storey here); one meter above this comes the modern steel roofing. The main façade of the shelter overlooking the valley and the gables have been covered only with a steel structure that permits the circulation of light and air (Fig. Steel Structure). Building Z was richly decorated inside. Even the relatively little decoration which has been preserved is highly impressive. Therefore the German Institute of Archaeology decided to build this shelter above the preserved remaines. |
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History of Research
The MosaicsThe preserved decoration are two only slightly damaged Roman floor mosaic works in two halls of the building: in the centre of the northern wing a 6 x 8 m large carpet-like mosaic with borders and ornaments and a framed picturefield in the middle. The picture shows the child Dionysus in the arms of a fatherly Silenus crowned with a wreath, nurturing him with a wine bowl golden in hue (Fig. Silenus Mosaic). We named this mosaic Silenus mosaic. Also Dionysian motives are shown on the 8 x 8m large so called Mask mosaic in a western hall of the house (Fig. Mask Mosaic). 16 medaillons form a 3 x 3m field embellished with colourful ornaments. In the medaillons theatre masks from ancient tragedies and comedies are shown as well as a satyr.s and a moenad.s heads. In the centre of the field there are four medallions each showing two animals that face one another: two gamecocks and two wildcats (Fig. Representation of a Tiger). All these motives originate from the circle of Dionysus, the god of wine and theatre. A niche on the west side of the room with the Mask mosaic hints at a cult being performed here. The hall behind the Doric columns in the court also had a floor mosaic which, in contrast, consisted only of simple geometric circle patterns (Fig. View of the Peristyl). All of these mosaics were in very good condition when recovered. They had been added while the building was renovated in Roman times in about 100 AC. At that point the former floor dating back to Hellenistic times had been removed. They most presumably also had consisted of mosaic, being 250 years old at that time and probably highly defective. |
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Previous Activities
The Stucco DecorationTherefore it is striking that the wall decoration in the Mask Mosaic Room, also dating back to Hellenistic foundation times, was not, after existing 250 years, renewed during the Roman renovation phase but preserved in a museum-like manner. Above the new mosaic floor rose the old, richly stuccoed coloured wall decoration in the so called Hellenistic Architectural Style (Fig. Restored Stucco Wall): between the five white pilasters of the reerected northern wall there are zones of red mirror cuboids distributed evenly and yellow, ornamentally framed panels. The other walls of the room were decorated in the same way. In the west at the frame of the niche for the cult the stucco déco was even richer. However, this part was so fragmentary when excavated that it could not be reconstructed. The fact that the old stucco déco of the walls had been restored in Roman times already shows its appreciation at that time. A capital of the pilasters was renewed during the Roman renovation for example. |
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Current Work
The ShelterThe construction of the shelter began in 1996 and was completed in 2002. After that the interior was fitted out and the outdoor part was arranged with steps, paths and planting. For the interior several court columns were erected, catwalks were built (Fig. Catwalk in the Peristyl), the stucco wall, which had been pieced together over a period of many years like a jigsaw puzzle, was refitted, the mosaics were restaurated, a copy of an antique wooden door was installed (Fig. Replica of the Wooden Door) and multilingual (Turkish, German, English) panels were affixed. The roofed area covers only the northern part of the former ancient building because the southern part facing the valley had been destroyed much due to erosion at the steep hillside. There, only the preserved ground walls were raised slightly with new material in order to secure them. In the roofed northern part all the ancient walls were heightened with natural stone, also used in the antique, up to the original level of the ground floor (about 5m). Inside the building a red seam and outside a step marks the two different parts of the walls, the preserved ancient parts and the recently built parts (Fig. Eastern Wall of Building Z) The modern roof construction on steel trussed girders above the walls has been deliberately designed as an independant unit (Fig. Roof Construction). From the originally two-storey building only one storey has been reconstructed because too little details are known about the second floor. The German Institute of Archaeology built the shelter according to internationally accepted criteria of restauration. The planning and the construction was approved by the General Directorate of Monuments and Museums and by the authorities for monument conservation in Izmir. Archaeologist Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Radt was the overall director of the project. Architects Dr.-Ing. Martin Bachmann and Dipl.Ing. Andreas Schwarting were in charge of the draft, the planning and the site management. |
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MethodsCooperationsDeutsches Archäologisches Institut (Leitung und Durchführung); Universität Karlsruhe, Institut für Baugeschichte (Baudokumentation); Fachhochschule für Restaurierung an der Universität Ankara (Restaurierung der Mosaiken); Firma Pracher, Würzburg (Restaurierung der Stuckdekoration); Markus Hauer, Karlsruhe (Tragwerksplanung) |
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ResultsTechnical SupportFirma Thyssen-Hünnebek, Düsseldorf (Baugerüste). - Firma Lutz Ankersysteme, Tauberbischofsheim (Spezialdübel zur Errichtung der Stuckwand). - Firma Sika, Stuttgart (Spezialfarbe für die Stahlteile des Gebäudes). |
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ContactPD Dr. Felix Pirson
Klassische Archäologie
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