27. araştırma sonuçları toplantısı 3. cilt - Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı

• Once the chamber is accessed, it will be cleared of the accumulated debris
and fill. The team anticipates a high probability of finding evidence
regarding the nature of the temple and its chronology through surviving
votive objects and inscriptions.
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Podium Cleaning
The clearing of the podium surface of its accumulated vegetation and fallen
blocks not only allowed the GPR scanning, but also an initial investigation of
the podium structure. The eastern flank of the podium was cleaned in order to
reveal the line of platform blocks. The cleaning has shown that this flank has
been greatly disturbed (Fig. 7); the lowest course of the wall is revealed to have
toppled over and the blocks to rest on their exterior face upon the exterior earth
fill. It appears that the temple may have already been partially covered by the
eroding earth fill, washing down from the hillside above and surrounding the
structure, before all the walls collapsed. Wall and superstructure blocks are
embedded in the accumulated fill far above the presumed lower-most courses,
indicating that some time (currently indeterminate) had elapsed between the
abandonment of the temple and the collapse of its walls.
It is still unknown how the vaulted sub-chamber was accessed from the
cella (Fig. 8). The Şekerhane Köşkü at Selinus contains a narrow internal
staircase that connected the two levels; there was no direct communication
from the sub-chamber with the exterior. The Antiocheia temple therefore
may also have an interior connector between levels that has so far eluded
detection. The staircase would be expected along one of the cella’s edges as at
Selinus. There is an anomaly in the earth fill on the podium close to its center,
but it has been viewed as a possible looter’s opening.
Clearing of the vegetation on the podium surface revealed traces of an
interior wall appearing near the SE corner of the platform’s interior. Greenglazed
pottery sherds found in association with this wall indicate a postclassical
date. It is possible that a staircase to the sub-chamber may be found
associated with this late wall.