Palaestra

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

first century CE to late fith/sixth century CE

Excavation Dates

1958-1975

Garden Description

The Bath/Gymnasium Complex at Sardis is one of the features that the excavators suggest could have been planted, though no evidence for tree pits and planting beds has been discerned to date. The whole palaestra was cleared of 40-60 cm of overburden down to the level of the original surface. From there, only limited trenches have been made into the subsurface.

The large palaestra was laid out in the form of a square peristyle court, 100 columns on each side, in the Corinthian order. The columns were 6.97 m. high. Although the area of the palaestra was clearly planned from the outset, the colonnade itself was constructed in the third century CE. It was entered through a triple gate on the east, where the bath was. A synagogue on the south side did not open into the peristyle. The palaestra sat on a built-up terrace, resting in part on vaulted substructures that have not been fully explored archaeologically. A long vaulted drain runs north-south under the palaestra and synagogue. The terrace appears to have been constructed in the first century CE, while the palaestra itself was developed in the third century CE.

The surface of the palaestra is graded gently from east to west. A covered drain outside the stylobate directed rain water from the roof through perforated drain covers in the NW and SE corners. Here water was directed into the N-S vaulted drain. Manhole covers in the synagogue and in the central open space of the palaestra access this large drain.

Archaeologists found limestone slab paving around the edges of the palaestra court. In the latest phases of the complex the palaestra was paved in limestone or marble slabs in east-west rows set into a mortar of crushed brick, which retains the impression of missing slabs. The reports indicate that the paving and mortar was only preserved along the edges, but their interpretation is that the entire surface was paved. In the center of the Palaestra a linear or cruciform area of sub-paving was discovered, raised some 10-15 cm higher than the surrounding level. The E-W expanse of this “road” 5.5 m in width extends between the Palaestra east gate and the center bays of the screen colonnade on the west on the central axis. F. Yegul does not describe it as a cruciform structure, nor does C. Greenewalt. Yegul dates this feature to the second half of the fifth century, possibly as late as the sixth c. CE.

The palaestra offers interesting directions for further study. The present subsurface levels may indicate through coring or trenches whether earlier surfaces were of compacted lenses of dirt or sand for paths or were loose, tilled and amended soils characteristic of cultivation. The presence of paving around the edges of the palaestra may nonetheless allow for tree pits or other features towards the center. The late cruciform feature perhaps indicates division of the palaestra for such a purpose. No cross-plan path designs have yet been attested for gardens or palaestra of the Roman era, though the cruciform pool at Herculaneam is striking. The late date of this feature suggests early evidence for a cross-plan, or charharbagh design, of the Byzantine period.

A short section of drain was also found in the NE quadrant of the courtyard. The archaeologists suggest that the overall paving of the palaestra’s courtyard may be late, after the use of the peristyle as an exercise ground had ended. Greenewalt has suggested that the palaestra was surfaced in sand and gravel for the earlier function. Further investigation of the paving mortar and the subsurface layers may provide indication for planting of trees to shade the large area during its various phases of use.

Bibliography

Buckler, W. H., and D. M. Robinson. 1932. Greek and Latin Inscriptions. Sardis 7.1. Cambridge, MA. (worldcat)
Greenewalt Jr., C. 1973. “The Fifteenth Campaign at Sardis.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 211: 19–20. (worldcat)
Meiggs, R., and D. M. Lewis. 1969. A Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions to the End of the Fifth Century B.C. Oxford. [(worldcat)][https://search.worldcat.org/title/25330]
Pedley, J. 1972. Ancient Literary Sources on Sardis. Cambridge, MA. [(worldcat)][https://search.worldcat.org/title/584433]
Yegül, F. 1986. The Bath-Gymnasium Complex at Sardis. Cambridge, MA. (worldcat); (Excavation Report)

Keywords

Places

Bath-Gymnasium Complex at Sardis (Pleiades:250091861)

Sardis on Gardens of the Roman Empire