Doliche - Urban development and cultural milieu in Hellenistic-Roman Northern Syria

Basic data for this project

Description

In ancient and medieval times Doliche was a urban center of Northern Syria which was - as the place of origin of the cult of Iuppiter Dolichenus - also integrated into supra-regional contexts. Today the site is located in South-eastern Turkey. It is hitherto unexplored and has remained largely unaffected by modern building projects, thus offering a rare opportunity to paradigmatically pursue open questions regarding the material culture and the historic development of the Northern Syrian inland region. The importance of this undertaking is further amplified by the fact that nearly all cities of comparable or higher importance are either flooded, entirely covered by modern structures or will remain inaccessible as a consequence of the current political circumstances in the Near East at least in the foreseeable future. The principal objective is to gain an authoritative delineation of the urban layout of a Northern Syrian city and its development from the Hellenistic period up to the time of the Crusades by implementing a complementary use of survey methods and excavations in select areas of the ancient city. Accordingly, extensive and intensive surveys in combination with geophysical prospection methodology are to ascertain the chronology and structure of the settlement in a diachronic perspective. These measures are to be accompanied by targeted excavations in two central areas of the city. The first of which provides the opportunity to study the residential structure of the site in order to delineate a reliable picture of the ancient circumstances of living and the local identity of Doliche and the surrounding area in Hellenistic and Roman times. The enterprise can be based on the results of the test trenches dug in 2010/11 which - despite the complete absence of visible above-ground structures in the respective areas - demonstrated the existence of well-preserved, luxurious residential buildings. The second area of activity will focus on the exemplary study of a public area of the city. The starting point will be the excavation of the administrative archive of Doliche, which has been located as a consequence of surface finds and a test trench. The possibility to archaeologically study such an archive is of high scientific value and of supra-regional significance. Particularly, if one considers the nearly total lack of well-studied archive-features and the fact that most complexes of seal-finds do not stem from distinct contexts. The results of these investigations will be of significance not only for our knowledge of the city of Doliche, but also for our understanding of the urban culture in the entire region. Important prerequisites for the achievement of this projects objectives, are - apart from the successful research undertaken in the past years in the sanctuary of Iuppiter Dolichenus - the already effected expropriation of central parts of the urban area and the existence of a fully developed scientific and logistic network.