The site of Anaia (Tr. Kadıkalesi, in Kuşadası, Aydın) has a deep stratigraphic record showing occupations and disruptions from the Bronze Age to modern times. T. Wiegand and H. Schrader studied it in 1903, and later W. Müller-Wiener in 1961. Z. Mercangöz led the first round of excavations from 2001 to 2021 which revealed a fascinating range of architectural evidence, represented by a multi-period basilica rising above a hagiasma, with a baptistery, a smaller church and a parekklesion surrounded by workshop and residential areas and associated small finds speaking for a continuity from the late Antique period to the fourteenth century, extending well into the beylik period. However, given Mercangöz’s research interests in the Laskarid period, the privileged focus was on the thirteenth century. The publications primarily focus on Anaia’s late Byzantine ceramic and glass production, avoiding broader discussions on the character and context of the Byzantine settlement. In this panel, we would like to focus on the new round of excavations resumed by Suna Çağaptay and her team since 2022 and use the 25th anniversary of the excavations as a moment for reflection. Accordingly, we aim to dig deeper and examine what happened at Anaia before and after the thirteenth century, focusing primarily on evidence from the newly excavated areas, namely the hagiasma, baptistery, B40 and the Area R. With papers discussing architecture, ceramics, coins, primary sources and cartographic evidence, we would like to offer a nuanced examination of the archaeological evidence at the site to explore how commerce, religion, and artistic production, impacted the built environment at Anaia. We believe that the 25th Byzantine Congress is the ideal venue to revisit Anaia’s Byzantine archaeology and its deep stratigraphy within and beyond Byzantium.
A noteworthy centre of commerce and piety from the Early Byzantine period onwards, Anaia/Kadıkalesi preserved its importance under the Empire of Nicaea and the reign of Michael VIII Palaiologos (1259–1282). During these periods, Anaia was a significant site of trade and ceramics production, while its large-scale basilica-type church was deemed worthy of extensive restoration by…
In this presentation, I would like to focus on an inscribed limestone block found in situ on the walls of a 5th-century vaulted substructure excavated at Anaia (Kuşadası, Turkey). Discovered in 2016, it was excavated in 2022. The initial epigraphical analysis of the block was done by the late Prof. Hasan Malay, who identified the…
Byzantine ceramics constitute the most abundant group of finds unearthed during the 25-year excavations at Anaia. Offering a wide range of samples, including glazed and unglazed, red and white clays, bespeaks a fascinating range of production, distribution, and consumption networks. A large group of these ceramics has been examined in a series of dissertations and…
Situated on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor—about 12 km south of Kuşadası and opposite Samos—Anaia (modern Kadıkalesi) preserves an extended occupation sequence from prehistory to the 19th century. Renowned for its Byzantine remains—including a fortress, a church, and an intramural settlement—Anaia has attracted considerable scholarly attention, yet its waterfront, central to this maritime city’s…