Early Byzantine terracotta lamps in the Fethiye Museum (Kbr-T10, Kbr-T26)

Abstract

The study examines 18 terracotta lamps housed at the Fethiye Museum and obtained by confiscation or purchase. Nos 9, 11, 12, and 17 were recovered from Esenköy (Fethiye District), while No. 15 was found during excavations at the Telmessos theater. Findspots of the remaining lamps are unknown. Instead of creating new types or groups for this museum assemblage, it was deemed more appropriate to analyze it according to a typology developed in previous comprehensive studies. Hence, lamps dated to the 5th–7th centuries AD were studied according to the Cibyra lamp typology. Nos 1–7 are wheel-made lamps (Kbr-T10), very similar to one another in form. The other 11 are mold-made and represent subgroups of type Kbr-T26. Unlike the wheel-made examples, the lamps produced using molds vary in form and decoration. Although the findspots of most of them are unknown, the characteristics of clay and form of specimens in this assemblage suggest that they were produced in the same place or even the same workshop.

Keywords

• Fethiye Museum
• Telmessos
• Early Byzantine
• lighting tools
• terracotta lamps