Duderstadt Gallery: Section 4 -Imperial Cult Temple

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EXCAVATING THE IMPERIAL CULT SANCTUARY
Between May and August of 1924, David M. Robinson, director of the Michigan excavations, excavated the remains of the Imperial Cult Temple and its surrounding plaza, clearing a vast area of almost 6,000 square meters. This was a Herculean undertaking, especially for the time, which necessitated the services of more than 80 Turkish workmen from the nearby town of Yalvaç. Lacking modern cranes or bulldozers, Robinson’s team used horse-drawn carts to remove massive architectural fragments from the sanctuary. Very little of the original architecture was still standing. Only the rock-cut podium of the temple and the sanctuary’s semicircular rear wall survived intact.

February 18, 2006
Digital Image
Courtesy of J. Matthew Harrington