Sondagen Im Fundament Des Groaen Altars (German, Electronic book text)

The problem of the exact dating of the Pergamon Altar has provoked a lively discussion among researchers in recent years. Connected with this was a debate about the architectural reconstruction of this most famous sacred and prestigious monument from the Hellenistic period in Western Asia Minor. To resolve these urgent questions, a pilot excavation was conducted in the foundations of the Pergamon Altar in 1994, leading to a precise new mapping of the foundations and a complete documentation of all the architectural elements still present on the site. The present volume describes the new excavations and the archaeological evaluation of the finds, particularly the ceramics. The conclusion was that the Pergamon Altar must have been erected around 170 BC. The detailed description of the ceramics is of particular significance for specialists, as there are complete series of profiles of ceramic vessels recording the development of Hellenistic ceramics up to the period of the construction of the Altar. Thus this publication can also serve as a handbook for determining and identifying ceramics from this epoch. The detailed results of the new recording of all the architectural elements and foundations of the Altar will be published separately in the AltertA1/4mer von Pergamon series together with a graphic reconstruction.