The Wall Mosaics of Olympos Church No. 3 and Their Importance for the History of the City

Abstract

In this article, the figure-motif features of the mosaic fragments belonging to the wall surfaces and arch intradoses found during the excavations of Olympos Church No. 3 are evaluated and the mosaics are dated. Fragments of human figures were found independently of each other in the apse, naos and exedra of the church, and they do not give a clear idea of how many figures were in the wall decorations. Among the foundings, there are also fragments of letters belonging to the inscriptions or names that are thought to be located around the figures. A few floral motifs are also seen on the mosaic pieces; however, the majority of the fragments are related to geometric patterns. In general, the fragments do not have enough size and quality to make precisely restitution the mosaic decoration on the walls and arches, but provide important information on their technical and stylistic features. So, it was possible to make arguments by analogy for dating and a style evaluation. As a result, it is thought that the wall mosaics of the Church No. 3 should be evaluated within the Mediterranean cultural basin of the Late Antique-Early Byzantine period and that they were completed in the first half of the 6^th century. The presence of figured wall mosaics and the fact that there is no trace of them being covered later, together with the other findings found to date, confirm the views that Olympos was abandoned before the Iconoclast Period and the urban life has not been revived afterwards.