Labraunda
Byzantine Necropolis Project, 2018 and 2019 seasons
Written by Dr. Anna Sitz
2018 Grave Context 21, carved in the bedrock. A. Sitz
While pagan worship at the sanctuary of Zeus Labraundos most likely ended in the fourth century CE, occupation of the site of Labraunda continued into the Byzantine period and beyond. The architectural remains of two churches and evidence for habitation within some of the ancient structures of the site offer only hints of the Christian settlement. The surprise discovery in 2018 of the Tetraconch necropolis (cemetery), which dates to the Middle Byzantine period (10th/11th century) provides a glimpse of life and death at post-antique Labraunda.
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Tetraconch bath, with hypocaust heating system. J. Blid (Labraunda 4: Remains of Late Antiquity 2016), Fig. 31 and 37
The landscape around the ancient site is dotted with rock-cut tombs dating from the Classical through the Roman period. Many of these graves were carved directly into the bedrock and covered by very large sarcophagus-style lids, made from a single piece of stone (Henry 2010, 98-105). These tombs were therefore quite visible, and many were robbed long ago. Little evidence of Christian burial at Labraunda has been identified – until now. Excavation next to the late antique Tetraconch bath building has revealed fifteen medieval graves belonging to men, women, and children. These graves indicate a change in land usage around the former bath, which ceased to function around 500 CE (J. Blid 2016, 17-71). The individuals buried here may perhaps have lived farther up the mountain in a Middle Byzantine fortified settlement built on the acropolis (Karlsson 2010, 67-74).
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The graves are oriented on an east-west axis, with the heads of the deceased at the west and arms crossed over the abdomen, as is common in Christian practice. Most of the graves were marked on the surface by crosses carved onto reused bricks, which were inserted into the ground like a tombstone. The crosses were etched onto the bricks with a sharp implement. On the surface, an outline of the burial below was also made out of stones (A. Sitz 2020, 218-220). These features indicate that in Byzantine Labraunda, as in the ancient period, it was important for a physical reminder of the graves to remain visible for those left behind.
Drone photo of the 2019 trench with eight opened graves. O. Henry
The construction method of the Byzantine graves at Labraunda also drew on cultural traditions stretching back to the Classical period at the site. The Christian graves are carved into the bedrock; the burial cavity was then covered over with smaller stone slabs and then with dirt. Although the bedrock is fairly soft in the area of the necropolis, the decision to carve into it for the burials indicates an investment of time and resources into the graves in order to bury people in the local fashion. The 2019 season furthermore revealed that two of the graves were used for more than one burial. After the first individual had been buried for some time, the grave was re-opened, the bones of the first individual were pushed towards the foot of the grave, and a second deceased individual was laid into the grave (Sitz and DelibaÅŸ, forthcoming). The habit of reusing graves was common in earlier periods as well.
2019 Grave Context 9, with brick grave marker. A cross can be seen on the brick. A. Sitz
Both the ancient and Middle Byzantine graves lack inscriptions identifying the deceased within. This anonymity was uncommon in the ancient period in Asia Minor, where the name of the deceased and additional identifying information was frequently inscribed on stone. At Labraunda, even wealthy ancient burials and the monumental Built Tomb, probably for a member of the Hekatomnid family in the fourth century BCE, do not have inscribed memorials (Henry 2010, 93-96). By the Middle Byzantine period, however, grave epitaphs became rare throughout Asia Minor. The lack of inscriptions for the Middle Byzantine burials at Labraunda, therefore, does not necessarily indicate an exceptionally poor population, but rather participation in both a long-standing local custom and broader medieval habits.
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One major change in the funerary practice did take place between antiquity and the Christian period, however. The tradition of burying grave goods (ceramic vessels, jewelry, coins) with the body ceased for the most part, although exceptions occurred. Because of a lack of datable material, the Labraunda graves were initially dated to late antiquity on the basis of the latest ceramic sherds found, but C14 dating carried out in 2020 has indicated that the skeletons date from the 10th or early 11th century. Most of the graves of the Tetraconch necropolis had no grave goods at all, but one, excavated in 2019, included a remarkably well-preserved iron comb, probably used for textile production on a loom, positioned on the individual’s abdomen (E. Goussard forthcoming).
2019 Grave Context 14, with the bones of the first deceased individual at the east. A. Sitz
2019 Grave Context 13, with the cranium and other bones of the first deceased individual at the east. A.Sitz
Study of the skeletal material and excavation finds is on-going and is expected to provide additional information on the date, health, and nutrition of the dead at Byzantine Labraunda.
2018 Grave Context 24, a child grave, before opening. A. Sitz
Iron comb probably for a loom, from 2019 Grave Context 14. R. Chevallier
Members of the excavation team, 2019
Excavation in progress, 2019. G. de Bats
This work was carried out as a subproject of the Labraunda Excavation, headed by Olivier Henry, with the financial support of Dumbarton Oaks, Akmed, and the SFB 933 of the Universität Heidelberg. Research on the skeletal material is being carried out by Yılmaz Selim Erdal and Demet DelibaÅŸ, and the project has been assisted by various specialists, students, and local participants.
WORKS CITED
Blid, J. 2016. Labraunda 4: The Remains of Late Antiquity. Stockholm.
Goussard, E. Forthcoming. “Étude de mobilier métallique.” Anatolia Antiqua 28.
Henry, O. 2010. “Necropolis of Labraunda.” In Mylasa/Labraunda: Archaeology, Historical and Rural Architecture in Southern Aegean. Istanbul.
Karlsson, L. 2010. “Labraunda 2009.” Opuscula 3: 61-104.
Sitz, A. 2020. “Fouilles: Tetrachonchos (Section 6.1),” 217-221 in O. Henry et al., “Labraunda 2018.” Anatolia Antiqua 27 (2020): 183-229.
Sitz, A. Forthcoming. “Tetraonch Sector Z (Byzantine Necropolis),” in O. Henry et al., “Labraunda 2019.” Anatolia Antiqua 28.
