Ancient Drawings on an Architectural Block in Side and the History of the Multipurpose Use of the Block

Abstract

Ancient drawings on a marble block in Side came to public attention in 2018. Barely seen under certain light conditions, those drawings were first discovered by Ulku Izmirligil in 2002 amongst the block stones being removed from the front of the skene building. The approximately 5-millimetre-deep lines were engraved on smooth marble surface in a fine and sharp fashion. Composed of an Ionic volute, profiles of column base and a flower of life pattern, the drawings cover a space of 1,60 m(2). When the missing part in the drawings is completed a horizontal axis passing through the centre of the eye of the volute appears. There are two other in-parallel axes in perpendicular to the foregoing axis, one passes through the eye of the volute, again, and the other passes through the widest section of the volute. The last two axes also constrain the drawings of column base profiles. Having probably been prepared in advance, those axes might have served the purpose of facilitating the original drawings. It is likely that the drawings were scribed by the masons, who worked in the construction of the skene building of the theatre. Therefore, the theories of Roman architecture can be associated with an ancient drawing for the first time in Side; and may shed light on the relations between design, production, and construction in Side during the Ancient Period. The fact that the marble block housing the working drawings bears multiple usage traces may provide information as regards the construction process of the skene building of the theatre.