The Canadian Excavations at Anemurium in Cilicia II

Summary

The University of British Columbia carried out excavations and restoration at the coastal site of Anemurium in Rough Cilicia under the direction of Professor James Russell from 1971 to 1993. Previous work at the site was directed between 1965 and 1970 by Professor Elisabeth Rosenbaum-Alföldi (Turkish Historical Society, then the University of Toronto). The excavations uncovered pottery and a small quantity of Hellenistic coins, but the majority of the discoveries date from approximately 200 to 700 CE. Some resettlement occurred during the 12th and 13th centuries CE under the Kingdom of Little Armenia, followed by a period of Seljuk rule in the early 13th century. As the second volume in the current series, this book presents additional reports on Anemurium, including its historical context, urban planning, the city’s fortifications, a summary of its five bathing establishments, an architectural and structural study of the largest bath complex, a report on the never-completed basilical structure, the coins, the glass, the human remains, the excavation of a small extra-urban building on Cape Anamur, the preservation and transfer of selected mosaics, and an excursus on a Roman temple tomb discovered north of the ancient city. The appendices include the descriptions originally published by the first modern-era Western observers of Anemurium: Captain Francis Beaufort of the Royal Navy and the young architect Charles Robert Cockerell. The preceding volume, published in 2021, presented the four churches excavated at Anemurium, a tomb and its frescoes, an inscription from a second tomb, the odeum, and the theatre. Earlier volumes focused on the mosaic inscriptions (James Russell), Roman and Early Byzantine pottery (Caroline Williams), and the mosaics (Sheila Campbell).

Content

Aerial view of Anemurium

Preface – Hector Williams

In Memoriam James Russell (1935–2025)

Chapter 1 Anemurium in Context – Hugh Elton

Chapter 2 Urban Planning at Anemurium – Thomas Boyd

Chapter 3 The Fortifications – John W. Humphrey

Chapter 4 The Bathing Establishments: A Summary – Thomas Boyd

Chapter 5 Baths III 2B: Architecture and Structure – John Stewart

Chapter 6 The Exedral Building – Hector Williams

Chapter 7 On the Coins Excavated at Anemurium – Robert Weir

Chapter 8 The Glass – E. Marianne Stern

Chapter 9 Church AII 7: The Human Remains – Marshall Joseph Becker and Sandra Garvie-Lok

Chapter 10 The Building on the Point – John W. Humphrey

Chapter 11 The Treatment and Transfer of Selected Mosaics – Kent Severson

Chapter 12 The Temple Tomb at Kalınören – Thomas Boyd

Appendix 1 Beaufort at Anemurium

Appendix 2 Cockerell at Anemurium

Photo credits