A spolia ostotheke from Metropolis and Early Christian burial traditions
Articles > Article · 2024
Authors: Burak ARSLAN, Zeynep Meriç, Serdar Aybek
ANATOLIAN STUDIES, Journal Indexed in AHCI, International, 2024, pp 179-194
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0066154624000097
Summary
<p>This article examines the different uses made of a marble ostotheke (ossuary) that was discovered in 2021 during archaeological</p><p>excavations in and around the church in the Araplıtepe district, near the ancient city of Metropolis. Information</p><p>about the chest’s original use as a funerary object and its production date and ownership is followed by a discussion of</p><p>its recycled (spolia) use as a sedimentation tank on a water channel, and by an explanation of its third and final function.</p><p>A bronze lamp discovered inside the ostotheke provides important clues about the object’s final use and its relationship</p><p>with its surroundings. Christian burials in and around the church dating to as early as the fifth to sixth centuries AD also</p><p>provide insights into these processes. This ostotheke, which served a variety of functions from the second to the seventh</p><p>centuries AD, shows that objects made in Roman times might continue to be used in different ways for a long time</p><p>thereafter. This article therefore examines the ostotheke as a reflection and extension of the changing needs of people</p><p>and communities over time, rather than simply as a carved marble object.</p>