The Roman Baths and Related Structures - Smintheion Studies I

113 s, s/b resimler, sert kapak ciltli, İngilizce.

This project was carried out with permission from the Turkish Ministry of Culture under the auspices of the Department of Antiquities and Museums. Especially important was the support of Coşkun Ozgunel, the director of excavations at Smintheion (Sanctuary of Apollo Smintheus) since 1980, who allowed me to  excavate at the site. After I became a member of the archaeological team in 2003, I began to specialize on the Roman use of the sanctuary by placing special emphasis on the Roman Baths and other water-related buildings that were important for the operation of the sanctuary. My first work was to excavate the water distribution/storage/settling basins located to the west of the temple of Apollo Smintheus in the course of the 2006 and 2007 field seasons. Then, I excavated Large Baths between 2008 and 2013 and determined that ali the water distribution basins supplied Large Baths with water from the sacred spring next to the temple. My last work was to excavate Small Baths, located about 50 meter north of the temple between 2014 and 2017. This structure was partially dug in the l 970s as part of a rescue excavation by Çanakkale Archaeology Museum as it was a Roman villa. I re-excavated the structure and established that this was the second major Roman bath built in the sanctuary. With the excavations of these two Roman baths at Smintheion, I wanted to contribute to our general knowledge on the function of the 'sanctuary baths' and the monumentalization of the Greek sanctuaries during the Roman era. I am hoping that these works will shed new light on those studies dealing with the use of the Hellenic sanctuaries during the Roman era.

Coşkun Özgünel, my tutor and advisor throughout my Ph.D. course at Ankara University, also provided support during the years of excavation at the sanctuary. My experience working alongside him during excavations of a Roman bath at Salamis on Cyprus was an important reason for me to work on the Roman baths of Smintheion. His lovely wife Neşe Ozgünel has become a mentor for me throughout my stay at Smintheion. Special thanks are due to my colleagues Turan Takaoğlu, Erhan Oztepe, Tolga Ozhan, Tayyar Gürdal, and Oğuz Koçyiğit for sharing their thoughts on the finds recovered from the excavations of the Roman baths at the sanctuary. In addition, my warm thanks are due to Fikret K. Yegül who kindly shared his insights on the finds with me during his visit to the sanctuary in 2016. I am also deeply grateful to him for honoring me by contributing to this work with an introduction highlighting the importance of the Roman baths at the sanctuary of Apollo Smintheus. Davut Kaplan