Excavation Reports 1949–1951

The expedition also continued excavations on the Sanctuary of Apollo in the country near the sea about two miles west of the ancient city. The writer cleared here the main temple of the site and part of a large building immediately to the east of the South Building (Bulletin, University Museum, Philadelphia, Vol. XIV, Number 4, Plan 1, page 15.) The Temple faces south on a large paved square and is raised above it on a built-up platform. With its stairway it measures on the platform 42.35 x 15.20 m. It is only a shallow one not deeper than the landing at the top of the stairway. It is a double temple with two cellas instead of the usual one. Each had a central nave with two side aisles which were raised above the naves behind a continuous colonnade in the Doric order. The unfluted stone columns stood on a stylobate consisting of a course of plinths over a course of molded orthostates. The central floors were level with the top of the stylobate. The aisle wall, once the west wall of a smaller single temple, separates the west aisle of the east cella from the east aisle of the west one. These two aisles are interrupted at the north end to permit the east nave with its east aisle and the west nave with its west aisle to communicate. Each has a doorway in the center of its north wall. The main doorways would have been in the center of the south walls, but no trace of these are extant. Before the single temple was enlarged into the double one, the floor of the east nave extended with its two aisles the entire length of the building. The lower courses of the walls were in solid stone ashlar masonry. They were covered with lime plaster as were also the columns of the interior colonnade. The roof was of terra-cotta tiles. At a considerably lower level than the floors of the later temples we have the foundation walls of an earlier building with a different orientation: These may well belong to the classical temple. How long this earlier temple remained in ruins before the single temple was constructed will have to await further excavation and study. The single temple was destroyed, almost certainly, by the earthquake of 76/77 A.D. Its commanding position, plan and orientation with respect to other buildings in the central area of the sanctuary make it almost certain that this was the main temple of Apollo Hylates. After its destruction it was rebuilt and enlarged. The west nave was dedicated very probably to Apollo Caesar whose cult was established before 101 A.D., and it is to be dated, therefore, to the period 76/101 A.D. This is clear from the dated building inscription of the South Building which informs us that Trajan during his fourth consulship dedicated the two exedrae which remained to be completed to Apollo Caesar and Apollo Hylates. The writer also cleared in part a large building, now called the Southeast Building, just east of the South Building. It is built around an interior unroofed court with a colonnaded paved portico on all four sides. Stone piers with engaged half columns facing the axis of the stylobate stood at the four corners. Elsewhere there were free columns composed of unfluted drums with dimunition but without entasis. Like the engaged columns they presumably carried Doric capitals. The height of the columns, curiously enough, is only 5.4 lower diameters.