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New Tetrarchic Reliefs from Nikomedia: Uncovering the Colorful Life of Diocletian’s Lost Capital

Project description

A closer look at the Roman painted reliefs below İzmit

What do you know about the ancient city of Nikomedia? It was Emperor Diocletian’s administrative capital of the Roman Empire. The ruins of Nikomedia lie below the modern industrial city of İzmit in Turkey. Recent excavations have uncovered polychromic reliefs and statues of a monumental imperial cult complex from the Çukurbağ district of modern İzmit. Among the newly discovered reliefs are 75 monumental panels, the only surviving state reliefs with extensively preserved ancient paint, that bear imperial, historical and mythological scenes. The EU-funded NIKOMEDIA project will shed light on the art of this period. The main output of this project will be to produce the first scholarly publication of a major new body of the Late Roman painted reliefs.

Objective

Ancient Nikomedia, Emperor Diocletian’s administrative capital of the Roman Empire, now lies below the modern industrial city of İzmit in Turkey. Until recently very little has been known of its urban landscape, although it was famous from literary descriptions. However, recent salvage excavations have revealed polychromic reliefs and statues of a monumental imperial cult complex from Çukurbağ district of modern İzmit. The complex dates from Tetrarchy, when Diocletian ended the 3rd century crisis through several reforms including the rule of four emperors. The newly discovered reliefs include 75 monumental panels, the only surviving state reliefs with extensively preserved ancient paint, that bear imperial, historical, and mythological scenes. These illuminate civic life of the ancient metropolis under Diocletian’s new administration and provide crucial evidence for the little-known art of this period. Working as the director of Çukurbağ Archaeological Project since 2015, I have been conducting multidisciplinary scientific research on these new finds. This fellowship will enhance this research and introduce and analyse this unique discovery, the only known example of a Tetrarchic complex from Asia Minor, through an authoritative scholarly monograph.

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Funding Scheme

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MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018

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Coordinator

THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 224 933,76
Address
WELLINGTON SQUARE UNIVERSITY OFFICES
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom

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Region
South East (England) Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Oxfordshire
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 224 933,76
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