The Meeting of Mosaic Corpus of Turkey

The second international Turkey mosaics Corpus congress on 7. – 11. June 2005 took place in Altinoluk, in the province Balikesir. We want to thank you all the participants of the congress.

The congress was supported by the municipality of Altinoluk and the Academy of science of Turkey . We want to thank both of them. Even one representative of the Ministry of Culture, the directorate of preservation of historical monuments and of the museums joined the congress. We want to thank the Ministry for their interest and want to thank also Mrs. Suzan Yigit for joining our Congress. Also this year the participants of the congress were specialist in this subject, like archaeologists, specialists of museums, mosaics restaurateurs and Turkish and American students, who do their doctoral examinations. The difference this year was the increment of the participants and that most of the participants were students.

The congress started on 8th June 2005 at 9 o’clock at the archaeological museum in Izmir. At first the preserved mosaics in the museum were examined, later the new insitu mosaics on the Agora, which was found, and the mosaics in the new museum on the exposition area were visited. In the evening we went together to Altinoluk and there was the official opening cocktail.

Thursday, the 9 th June 2005 was spent for the congress, whose agenda was determined. The results and decisions of this day are:

Mosaics in Turkey were not presented in the way they deserved. For clarifying uncertain aspects of mosaics, it is important that these mosaics have to be presented by a publication of high – quality and which has a specific standard. This publication can change the thesis about the iconography of mosaics, the ateliers and the chronology.

After a long conference we decided to divide the regions in Turkey into the regions, which were shown on the Tabula Imperi Byzantini and give every region a number while the stage of publication for the volumes. In the future the corpus volumes should also be divided within their own regions, into inter volumes and if it is necessary, even the cities in the regions should become an own volume. It is senseless to record all the mosaics of the region and the city together for saving time. Mosaics, which cannot be recorded, because of the difficulty of access, will be trodden in the following volumes, when they are ready for the studies. The Gallia corpus for example was completed in this way.

After the conference we divided to regions in this way:

İstanbul
Prof. Dr. W. Jobst, Dr. V. Schiebleiter, Dr. F. Tülek.

Bithynia
Prof. Dr. M. Şahin, Dr. F. Tülek, D. Şahin. Mr. Jobst, who made surveys in this area in the past, promised to support us with materials.

Mysia
Prof. Dr. D. Salzmann, Prof. Dr. M. Şahin, Dr. H. Mert, D. Şahin

Troias
Dr. G. Polat, Y. Polat

Lydia
E.Tok-Bayraklı. Still preparing her doctoral examination about this area

Ionia-
Ephesos- Prof. Dr. W. Jobst, Dr. W. Scheibeleiter
Miletos- O. Feld
Smyrna- Prof. Dr. R. Meriç
At Erytrai and Kyme are mosaics, but we cannot find a person, who would work in this area in the present time

Caria
Peninsula Halikarnassos - Prof. Dr. M. Şahin, D. Şahin
Muğla and surroundings - Prof. Dr. A. Diler
Aphrodisias- S. Dilan

Lykia
Xanthos- Dr. M. P. Raynaud- Dr. A.-M. Maniére-Léveque,
Letoon- A.-M. Guimier-Sorbets
We know that this area is rich on ground mosaics, especially the cities Lmyra, Arykanda, Patara, Olympos and Myra . Even if nobody required to work in this area, the mosaics of this cities will be published in separated volumes.

Pamphlia
Perge- I. Işıklıkaya

Kilikia
Dr. Füsün Tülek, A. MAI

N. Suriye
Zeugma- Dr. J.-P. Darmon, M. Önal, E. Aksoy. In this region the most famous center is Zeugma. The mosaics of Zeugma will overcome one volume, so it is planned that Zeugma will have more than one volume.
This area, as we can see by the multitude of the mosaics of the Byzantine period, which were found in Gaziantep and the surroundings, is really rich.
Kingdom of Edesa ( Urfa – Adiyaman) – B. Salman

Paphlagonia and Pontus
Prof. D. Parrish, Prof. Dr. M. Şahin, D. Sahin

East Anatolia
B. Can

As well as this distribution, there is no requirement for the regions Trakya, Phrygia, Pisidia, Isauria and Cappadokia. We decided to find as soon as possible a scientist, who would work in this area, which is also rich of mosaics.

After dividing the areas, we talked about the first publication. The most important subject was to find the form of the inventory index card. We discussed again about the prototype of the last year and built a template with the main shape. For finding out the perfect form, all the participants got an example of this template and should made an opinion about this and the results should be discussed in the 2 nd conference. This year eliminated the lacks, choose the perfect form for the index card and gave every participant one example of this. So every participant had a model for his inventory.

In the Corpus it is also necessary that we use the same terminology. In this subject the publication of C. Balmelle, M. Blanchard – Lemeé, J- P. Darmon, S. Gozlan and M- P. Raynaud, which embraces two volumes and was translated into five languages (except Turkish) in the year 2002, with the title “La décor géométrique de la mosaique romaine” is important. We decided to translate this work into Turkish. The translation will be facsimile, and will also be the first publishing of the AIEMA – Turkey . Dr. H. Mert, D. Şahin and I. Işıklıkaya are charged with the Translation.
After finishing this publishing, we decided publishing the publication about the mosaics of Ephesos, Xanthos, Zeugma and Cilikya.

In this conference we also voted the committee of the editors. Editors are: Prof. Dr. M. Şahin, Prof. Dr. W. Jobst, Prof. Dr. Parrish, Prof. Henri Lavagne, Dr. H. Mert, Hélène Morlier and C. Küçük.

After this we discuss about possible financial sources. Especially the Paul Getty Foundation undertakes a part of the restorations of the preserved insitu mosaics in the terrain and promised technical support. But this support is not really much, if we imagine the width of Turkey . So it will be better to apply to EU donation or similar donation by different projects. We have enough connection to forgein countries for supplying collaboration between the participants. In this year we invited Saadet and Aytac Güner, two specialists in this subject. In the end we decided to join “the project for reducing the social risk in Turkey ”, which contains a theme about the East Anatolian region, together with Birol Can.

After the conference on the round table, the Turkish participants come together for the first formation of the AIMEA – Turkey . After the elections of the board of directors and discuss how the AIEMA – Turkey should be organized. In the end there were three different possibilities:

We decided that it would be better to be organized by TUBA. But if we couldn’t get the support we supposed to by TUBA, we will choose the third idea, to be connected to an university.

The obligations of allocating the personnel and the saving, which are made by the government, makes it different, to built a Institute in a university. So we preferred the idea of the centre of research. But it doesn’t matter, which of these ideas we will choose, we will be a section of the AIEMA and we will be called as AIEMA – TURKEY . Our aim was, with the help of AIEMA, to build an inventory of the mosaics of Turkey , collect them in a databank and publish the results for the rest of the world.

In the 3 rd day of the congress we visited Antandros and Pergamon and examined the mosaics there. I want to thank the president of the Antandros excavation Dr. G. Polat and the restaurateur C. Odaba şoğlu that they give us the chance to examine the mosaics on their place and that they gave us detailed information about the methods, which were used here by the restaurateur.

The examination in Pergamon come true by the authorization we got from the president of this excavation, Dr. F. Pirson. We are thankful, that gave us the opportunity to examine the mosaics of the building Z, whose restoration is even finished and not yet transferred to the Ministry of Culture.

After Pergamon we visited the museum of Bergama . After this, we decided, without prior planning, to visit Allianoi, which will be under water soon. This city will be 10m under the water, because a dam should be set up here. While the rescue excavations a lot of ground mosaics where found, so this makes this place interesting for us. I want to thank the president of this excavation, Mr. A. Yara ş , that he accompanied us, while we were examining the mosaics and that he gave us detailed information. Our common aim is to save these mosaics. Everybody knows that all the cultural assets are just precious in their medium and that they only express something, when they are together. So it is important to stop the construction of this barrage. But if we consider the clauses of Turkey , and the financial and strategic benefit of the public, it seems to be impossible. So we have to carry these mosaics to a reliable place. In counter to Mr. Yara ş, we are against leaving these mosaics under water.

In the last day of the congress we were in Ephesos. We thank the president of the excavation Prof. Dr. F. Krinzinger, that he allowed us to make examinations on the hillside houses, and we also want to thank Prof. Dr. W. Jobst and Dr. W. Scheibeleiter, who gaves us detailled informations about the mosaics and the techniques used by the restoration.

After the reception in the excavation house of Ephesos, organized by the president of the excavation, we went to the museum of Selcuk and after that, the 2nd international mosaic corpus ended with a dinner. .