A Peripteros of the Geometric Period in the Artemision of Ephesus

It was in 1908 that D. G. Hogarth first published information about a “Central Basis” (Pl. XI (a), Fig. 1) that he had excavated in 1904 and 1905 in the Artemision at Ephesus, and for many decades his words remained the authoritative statement concerning the early sanctuaries not only in Ephesus, but also in the rest of the classical world. A colloquium in the British Museum in 1984, however, demonstrated that there were issues, raised by numismatists and art historians, that continued to be at odds with the results of Hogarth's excavations, and that could only be solved by a further examination of the “central basis” in question.As early as 1986, under the northern outer rim of the crepidoma of the archaic dipteros (Croesus temple), a square base had been discovered which obviously formed the centre of a distinct cult area. A flood stratum of sand, which was typical of all the parts of the Artemision we had excavated, appeared under the base. Fortunately, the low level of the ground water made it possible to measure this stratum (66 cm.) and to observe beneath it a new culture stratum—a pavement made of yellow marly limestone slabs—that had previously escaped detection. This observation gave rise to the hope that more discoveries could be expected under Hogarth's “central basis”.