Public Lighting Infrastructure at Nysa ad Maeandrum in Late Antiquity: Social Function and Destruction along the Colonnaded Street
32nd Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists in Athens, Greece, 26 - 29 August 2026, Athens, Yunanistan, 26 Ağustos - 29 Eylül 2026, ss.639-640, (Özet Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
- Basıldığı Şehir: Athens
- Basıldığı Ülke: Yunanistan
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.639-640
- Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Late Antiquity was a period of profound transformation for the cities of Western Anatolia, marked by earthquakes, fires, possible Sasanian invasions, and later Arab raids that reshaped urban space and infrastructure. Among the systems most affected by these disruptions was public lighting, a key element of urban life that ensured security, enabled nocturnal activity, and reinforced social organization in late Roman cities. This paper examines the public lighting infrastructure of Nysa ad Maeandrum through the oil lamps and associated suspension elements uncovered during excavations along the city’s Colonnaded Street (Plateia), the main urban axis of the city. The study focuses particularly on the Eastern Spaces (ES-3) at the intersection of Street 1 and Street 4West, where a remarkable concentration of Late Antique lamps, bronze suspension rings, and in situ fixing points was documented. typological and stratigraphic analyses indicate that these lighting devices remained in use until the final phases of Late Antiquity. By contextualizing the lamp assemblage within its architectural setting, this contribution explores the social function of street lighting as part of a coordinated public infrastructure rather than isolated domestic practices. The condition, distribution, and depositional context of the finds are further evaluated in relation to the seventh-century destruction layers identified along the Colonnaded Street. Comparative evidence from cities such as Ephesos, Aphrodisias, Sardis, and Laodikeia is used to situate Nysa within broader regional patterns of urban lighting and infrastructural decline. The paper argues that public lighting systems in Nysa not only reflect Late Antique urban resilience but also provide a sensitive archaeological indicator for understanding the processes of urban contraction and collapse in Western Anatolia during the early seventh century CE.