• r2-50-10
    Decorated marble slab, top. (©Archaeological Exploration of Sardis/President and Fellows of Harvard College)
  • r2-50-20
    Decorated marble slab, back. (©Archaeological Exploration of Sardis/President and Fellows of Harvard College)
  • r2-50-30
    Decorated marble slab, drawing and section. (©Archaeological Exploration of Sardis/President and Fellows of Harvard College)

Decorated Marble Slab

Date
6th C. BC?, Lydian?
Sardis or Museum Inv. No.
NoEx64.005
Material
Marble, Stone
Object Type
Sculpture
Sculpture Type
Architectural Relief
Site
Kılcanlar
Findspot
On the E side of the Gygean Lake, about 2 km. SE of the village of Kılcanlar, a mound on the E side of the road to Akhisar had been partially bulldozed and opened (1964). A phallic marker, left by us on the site and the marble slab with incised spirals were left lying by the road (BASOR 177, 35). For location, see Fig. 2.
Description

The slab, probably a door lintel rather than a doorjamb, must come from a chamber tomb in the mound. It is decorated on one side with two connected spirals incised within a panel with raised edges. K. J. Frazer observed that the rougher areas outside the panel may indicate where the piece rested on supports. On the back are four dowel holes, three of them circular (diam. 0.02-0.03). They still contain lead for anchoring the bronze dowels. Interpreted as a lintel, the piece would leave a clear door W. of 0.71; this is compatible with door widths known from chamber tombs at Duman Tepe (BT66.1, 0.65; BT66.2, 0.77; BT66.4, 0.53). The D. of 0.13 is insufficient compared with 0.34 for chamber tomb BT66.1, but adding a backing stone would provide the proper Th. The side with dowels must have been fastened to a stone. The H. of 0.90 would be somewhat low for a jamb; the jambs in Duman Tepe chamber tombs range from 1.01-11.11.

The double spiral does not resemble any of the usual Lydian architectural ornaments. Perhaps it was intended as a magic symbol. No other finds are known from the mound, but the neat dowel holes are not likely before the 6th C. B.C.

Condition

Marble.

One long edge original and smooth; short edges worn; upper (?) r. corner broken. Four dowel holes on back side.

Dimensions
L. ca. 0.90; W. 031-0.32; D. 0.12-0.13. D. of holes ca. 0.03-0.045. W. of raised borders on one long side ca. 0.01-0.02.
Comments
See Also
Bibliography
Published: BASOR177, 35, mentioned.
Author
GMAH