In AS XXXVII (1987) 23–35 J. M. Wagstaff writes interestingly of “Colonel Leake and the Classical Topography of Asia Minor”.

Leake succeeded in identifying a large number of ancient sites in Asia Minor. Dr. Wagstaff is well aware of this and naturally enough does not make it his business to list them all. However, in view of current B.I.A.A. work at Oenoanda and Balbura in the Cibyratis, it seems worth pointing out, as a footnote to his article, that Leake was the first to identify both cities, although he never visited either of them. He identified them on the basis of epigraphical evidence collected in October 1841 by Richard Hoskyn, Master of H.M.S. Beacon, and the naturalist Edward Forbes, and his “Remarks on Mr. Hoskyn's Paper”, Journal of the Royal Geographical Society XII (1842) 162–9, may be added to Dr. Wagstaff's list of publications of the man whom Louis Robert justly described as “l'incarnation de la géographie du monde hellénique pendant la première partie du XIXe siècle”.

In 1995 a new series of multi-disciplinary investigations were initiated by the authors into diachronic human occupation of the coastal plain at Altınova, between Ayvalık and Dikili on the Aegean coast of northwest Turkey (Fig. 1). Altınova lies approximately halfway between the much better-known (and certainly more intensively investigated) archaeological regions of Troy to the north and Bayraklı/Izmir to the south (Fig. 1). Through the plain flows the Madra Çay, and during the Holocene the river's depositional activity has created a large delta clearly visible on most maps as a projection outward into the Lesbos Channel (also known as the Mytilene/Midilli Strait), with the port of Mytilene and the marina of Thermi lying directly opposite (20 km. away) on the island of Lesbos (Fig. 1, Pl. XXII(a)). Altınova's iskele, located in a sand-spit which forms a natural marina, has developed into a modern holiday resort with 5 km. or more of holiday villas along its sandy beaches.

The following discussion begins with a study of a bronze bowl belonging to Monsieur George Ortiz, whose collection of ancient bronzes in Vandoeuvres/Geneva includes a large number of outstanding pieces of Near Eastern art. The bowl was recently acquired in the antiquities market and is said to come from modern Turkey. It is one of the finest and best preserved examples of a particular class of oriental metalwork in repoussé, the so-called Syro-Phoenician “bull-bowls”, which were most probably produced in the Levant in the early first millennium B.C. The main decoration of this class consists of concentric friezes of bovine animals in procession or similar sequence arranged around a central floral motif. The present paper will also examine a second, as yet unpublished, bowl kept in the British Museum.

Within the past few years not a little has been written about the relationship between Heinrich Schliemann and Frank Calvert (see, for example, Traill, Calder 1986; Traill 1995; Robinson 1994; 1995; Allen 1999). The central thesis of these studies is that Schliemann mistreated Calvert in every possible way, not only financially, but also intellectually. For instance, ‘Schliemann's egotism and false claims have robbed Calvert of his proper place in the history of archaeology’ (Traill 1984).

Such statements give the impression that Calvert was a better scholar than Schliemann and that there is still a good deal in his work, as there is in that of Schliemann, which can help us. From the above interpretation by Traill one could almost believe that it is a distinct loss that Calvert has become nothing but a footnote in the works of Schliemann and that it is high time for a revaluation. Robinson is the most ardent exponent of this attempted revision. She is of the view that the world was duped by Schliemann, and that everything would have been done much better by Calvert. If truth be spoken, Schliemann has robbed us of the knowledge that Calvert would have given.

Examination of a number of satellite and aerial images of the Milesian peninsula has allowed the mapping of a large number of apparently ancient linear features across the landscape. These are here interpreted, for the most part, as relicts of agro-economic field systems of unknown date, but most plausibly established during the Archaic, Hellenistic or late antique periods and perhaps used for centuries after, before the economic decline of the region in the second millennium AD. While earlier survey work has noted the existence of terracing and rural divisions at certain points in the landscape, the new remote-sensing data have provided an unprecedented large-scale insight into the extent and variety of forms of division, as well as documenting the stripping of macquis overgrowth by modern farming practices, which has, on the one hand, exposed these ancient landscapes but also, on the other, poses a threat to their preservation. The extent of the linear features suggests a high degree of land use on the peninsula at certain points in the past. Further investigation of these important features has the potential to provide critical insights into the economic history of rural and urban Miletos over the last 2,000 to 5,000 years.

A bowl with an incised heroic combat scene was found at the Hittite capital of Boğazköy and dates to the end of the 15th/beginning of the 14th century BC. This article reconsiders this previously published bowl, its production history and the message it conveys. The warrior is usually identified as Mycenaean, and in previous studies the bowl has been considered only for its incised decoration without evaluation of the bowl itself, its context and associated finds. This article argues that the bowl had a physical journey from Rough Cilicia to Hattusa and a non-physical journey from being a simple everyday object to a unique artwork through the secondary carving of an image, which reflects dualistic aspects.

Through analysis of a figurine assemblage from the site of Koçumbeli-Ankara, this study aims to re-evaluate the origins, meanings and functions of the Early Bronze Age (third millennium BC) anthropomorphic figurines of Anatolia. Conventional typological approaches to figurines are often focused on their origins and sex; however, such approaches hinder an understanding of the context of the norms of production, display and discard within which the figurines become more meaningful. Following an examination of breakage patterns and the decorative aspects of the Koçumbeli assemblage, a comparative review of figurine find contexts, raw materials and abstraction scales in Anatolia is provided, so that the social concerns underlying the use of these figurines can be explored. It is concluded that the origins of the figurines are difficult to pinpoint, due to the presence of similar items across a variety of regions of the Near East from the later Neolithic onwards. The sex of the figurines is equally ambiguous; while some human sexual features can be discerned, it is difficult to decide whether these features are ‘male’, ‘female’, both or beyond classification. Alternatively, the decoration, breakage and find contexts of the figurines suggest that the imagery was embedded in more complex perceptions of social status, death and social regeneration. The need for materialisation of these concerns in the form of the figurines could be related to the development of a new social landscape of interaction leading to political centralisation by the second millennium BC. Furthermore, the figurines were produced through a meaningful linking of particular raw materials and particular abstraction scales to particular use contexts, which seems to have shifted during the centralisation process.

In the summer of 2012 Oylum Höyük yielded its first Hittite cuneiform tablet and thus joined five other Hittite tabletyielding sites in southeastern Anatolia and northern Syria. The tablet was probably removed from a nearby Hittite imperial-period monumental building, which seems to have been the Hittites’ administrative centre at Oylum, and incorporated into Iron Age debris. The wording of the text, in its preserved parts, shares traits with Hittite state treaties. It also has striking similarities with Hittite instruction texts, due to the generic affinities between these two genres. However, on the basis of the overall structure of the Oylum tablet and, most significantly, the inclusion of a list of oath gods at the end of the text, it is proposed that we are dealing here with a treaty. This article clarifies the genre and comprehensible context of the tablet, provides a transliteration and, as far as it is possible, a translation of the text, provides some philological comments and ends with the suggestion that the ancient name of Oylum Höyük was Ḫaššu(wa).

Statistical analysis of Carl Blegen's pottery sequence using Correspondence Analysis (CA) suggests a gap of 100–200 years between his Troy III and IV periods. From the Manfred Korfmann excavations three stratigraphic sequences hitherto assigned to Troy IV and V appear to bridge it. This allocation is based on stratigraphic/architectural grounds and on the observable development in ceramic shapes and wares. Heinrich Schliemann's pottery sequence from 1870–1873 is also analysed by CA and found to compare well with Blegen's (with limited exceptions probably due to the larger scope of his excavations), but it does not exhibit the same gap. This suggests that during the ‘bridge’ period occupation shrank to the summit on the western end of the citadel mound. This ‘bridge’ period of seven or more building phases has a distinctive ceramic assemblage and may be called the Proto-IV period. It is broadly contemporary with Middle Helladic I, Beycesultan VIII–VI, Küllüoba II and the Tarsus Early Bronze to Middle Bronze transitional period. Careful re-evaluation of the radiocarbon evidence dates it to ca 2150–1990 cal. BC. Botanical and faunal evidence from the strata in question attests significantly drier climatic conditions which, together with the smaller size of the settlement, probably reflect the 4.2ka cal. BP climatic deterioration.

The Maraş and Sakçagözü valley surveys on the east side of the Amanus mountains provide new data regarding patterns of Hittite territorial management and administration. Sites dating to the Late Bronze Age II period were identified by the presence of burnished pottery, drab ware and, occasionally, by animal-shaped ceramic vessel fragments. The standardised drab ware pottery is emblematic of mass production and rigid control of labour sources and raw materials through systems designed to support the economic and political strategies of the Hittite court and to serve its interests. The settlement pattern is linked to Hittite regional needs for agricultural production, raw materials and territorial security. The distinct site location pattern indicates a strategic, restrained use of space by the Hittites. This left room for beneficial integrative features that local élites might emphasise for their own purposes, which comprise a foundation for the prestige later accorded to the Hittite legacy.

This article discusses the various ways in which the hot (caldarium) and warm (tepidarium) rooms of Roman and Byzantine bathhouses were provided with a wall heating system to complement the underfloor or hypocaust system. Several different methods were devised to create cavities in the walls through which hot air could rise. In some cases a combination of the different methods was used. One of the longest-lasting and widespread methods involved the use of terracotta spacers — small hollow terracotta tubes that were placed as wedges between the main outer wall and the inner revetted wall surface. At Amorium in Phrygia excavations of a small public bathhouse, dating to the sixth–ninth centuries AD, have brought to light a large number of these spacers, together with a few examples of much simpler spacers made out of re-used tile. Examples of both types are described in detail in an accompanying catalogue.

The Church of St Mary is one of the most significant monuments of Ephesos, but also one of the most enigmatic. Its repeated modifications prior to its destruction created an amalgam of different phases that have proven difficult to decipher within the present remains. Written records and inscriptions suggest that this church was the venue of the riotous Ecumenical Council of AD 431, but the identification of the phase of the building that corresponds to this event is controversial. And, although the remains make it clear that at some point the church was transformed into a domed basilica, the latter’s form and date have not been established with certainty. The present article tries to fill these lacunae through a new survey of the remains of the church and a re-examination of the evidence from the archaeological excavations of the 20th century. This new investigation of wall structures and design patterns within the remains leads to new interpretations of the evidence, and sheds further light on the history of the Church of St Mary from its late antique origins to the Dark Ages.

Dr. Richard Barnett has had a long-standing interest in Urartu, manifested most recently in his chapter in the new Cambridge Ancient History, and early represented by his article on “The Excavations of the British Museum at Toprak Kale near Van” over thirty years before, in 1950. Among the finds in the important Toprak Kale collection in the British Museum were parts of what Dr. Barnett described as a “bewigged garment of lead”, and this piece (BM. 123870) has become familiar from his illustration (Pl. XXXVa).

It was found during the excavations conducted on behalf of the British Museum at Toprak Kale in 1880 by Captain E. Clayton and Dr. G. C. Raynolds, who undertook the work at the request of Hormuzd Rassam, in whose name Sir Henry Layard had obtained an excavation permit. Clayton and Raynolds excavated two main areas on Toprak Kale, one representing the Temple of Haldi, and the other, some fifty feet to the south, where a “pavement” was uncovered and a number of ivory objects and fragments of ivory and bronze were found, in Clayton's words, “in this excavation near the level of the pavement …” Though he makes no mention of lead, the lead fragments under discussion were associated with the ivory, and were presumably mistaken by him for fragments of bronze. This group is probably to be dated in the later part of the ninth, or the eight century B.C.

“Das Hauptmerkmal der phrygischen Felsfassaden, das sie von allen anderen zeitgenössischen kleinasiatischen Felsdenkmaelern unterscheidet, ist der geometrische Dekor. Dieselbe Ornamentsprache haben die Schmuckelemente der gleichzeitigen phrygischen Terrakottafriese und auch die viel aelteren Vasen des schönen Stils”; so lautet die Ansicht von E. Akurgal über die motivische und zeitliche Identitaet der beiden bekannten architektonischen Schöpfungen von Phrygern, der Felsfassaden und der tönernen Verkleidungsplatten. Diese Beziehungen sind schon früher bemerkt und in der Forschung immer wieder zitiert.

Eine Gegenüberstellung des Kultdenkmals der Arezastis mit der—wenn auch phantasiereichen—Rekonstruktionszeichnung einer Gebaeudefassade von Pazarlı oder des “Tempels” von Gordion macht in der Gesamterscheinung tatsaechlich den gleichen dekorativen Eindruck.

The discovery of a hitherto unknown map of Alanya dating from the early seventeenth century enables a comparison to be made between the very detailed fortifications that it depicts and those that are standing today. Such a comparative analysis should permit some inferences about the form of the Seljuk and early Ottoman fortifications that are now ruinous. The Italian military provenance of the map gives an opportunity to illuminate briefly the depredations of the Medici navy in southern and western Anatolia.

Most historians have been reluctant to use maps as evidence, the few who have done so have often fallen into the pit of misinterpretation that the former, and perhaps wiser, have avoided: but the study of the history of cartography is gradually emerging from the exclusively archaeological stage, in which it has been delving for over a century, and the corpus of information about maps has now grown to the point where no historian can afford to ignore their value as evidence, provided that he is able to evaluate them accurately. It is in evaluation that the historian of cartography owes a duty to his fellow historians.