{"id":2706,"date":"2026-02-02T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/transpergmikro\/?p=2706"},"modified":"2025-11-27T11:48:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T10:48:14","slug":"the-gurnellia-in-pergamon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/transpergmikro\/the-gurnellia-in-pergamon\/","title":{"rendered":"Lost and found again: Rediscoveries extending the knowledge on the substructures of the \u2018Gurnellia\u2019 in Pergamon"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The \u2018Gurnellia<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 is situated on the southwestern foothills of the city hill of ancient Pergamon, above the Selinus River and its recently investigated embankments<\/strong> <\/a>(2023). Today, the substructures facing both sides of the valley create a rectangular terrace on the slope, known as the \u2018B\u00fcy\u00fck Alan\u0131\u2019 or \u2018\u0130ttihati Terakki Park\u0131\u2019 (Fig. 1).\u00a0 The name Gurnellia probably dates back to the time of the Greek Quarter in Bergama, which began to develop in the late in the 19th<\/sup> century. It is most certainly deriving from the word \u03b3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c1\u03bf\u03cd\u03bd\u03b9<\/em> for pig – and could refer to its use as a pig market. This is reflected in the Turkish name \u201aDomuz Alan\u0131\u2019. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The substructures of the \u2018Gurnellia\u2019 consist of elongated chambers, some of which are partially preserved with remnants of their vaults. According to Corinna Br\u00fcckener (Br\u00fcckener 2018, 9), they measure approximately 63 x 140 m and follow a roughly north-south orientation (see the Archaeological Map of Pergamon<\/strong><\/a>). The southern vault \u2013 located below the Akropol Restaurant \u2013 survives only in western fragments, while an additional vault defines the western edge of the terrace. This latter structure was further excavated by the Bergama Museum in 2025 (Fig. 2).<\/p>\n

During the 2025 summer season, the remains of the \u2018Gurnellia\u2019 were reexamined for the author\u2019s master\u2019s thesis at the\u00a0Department of Historical Building Research and Monument Preservation at the Technical University of Berlin<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0and as part of the\u00a0TransPergMicro<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0project (Fig. 3). The building documentation recorded both long-studied features and structures that were newly discovered or had been forgotten. Elevation and section drawings at a scale of 1:50 were produced on the basis of tachymetric measurement and supported by orthomosaics created using the \u2018structure from motion\u2019 method.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Fig. 1 View of the Gurnellia \/ Domuz Alan\u0131<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fig. 2 The western vault during the excavation of the Bergama M\u00fczesi<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fig. 3 Building documentation in the southern vault<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

The \u2018Gurnellia\u2019 was first described in the Athener Mitteilungen<\/em> in connection with the Pergamon excavations of 1886\u20131898 as a large complex of ruins belonging to a Roman building (Conze \u2013 Schuchhardt 1899, 121). It was mentioned several times by Wilhelm D\u00f6rpfeld, Alexander Conze, and Paul Schazmann. D\u00f6rpfeld also refers to \u201cmonumental staircases, magazines, and other components\u201d (D\u00f6rpfeld 1910, 387), which may correspond to Schazmann\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n

In addition, the \u2018Gurnellia\u2019 appears in several maps and plans, including the map of Pergamon published by Otto Berlet in 1913. This map is based on an undated architectural survey drawing discovered in the Zentralarchiv der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin. There are also several related drawings, presumably made by Schazmann in 1908 (Wulf-Rheidt 1994, 143, Fig. 1), although they lack an overall plan. These sections and views, titled Gurnellia<\/em>, initially posed many questions, as they could not, with one exception, be associated with the known remains. However, by examining the surrounding area and comparing the drawings with the results of the recent building documentation, the understanding of the structure gradually became clearer.<\/p>\n

In the recent research, Wolfgang Radt and G\u00fcnther Garbrecht discussed a later reuse of the vaults as cisterns (Radt 1999, 158), while Ulrike Wulf-Rheidt examined their urban context and Corinna Br\u00fcckener compared the construction techniques of the substruction vaults with those of the Red Hall<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The vault walls are built of pointed andesite blocks that form a shell around an opus caementitium<\/em> core. Above the impost layer, up to seven additional courses of blocks appear at the springing of the vault. Beyond this point, the barrel vault continues with radially set quarry stones, backfilled with opus caementitium<\/em>. In the walls and at the apex of the vault, several arches, openings, and beam holes \u2013 some open, others filled \u2013 are visible. Comparison with other Pergamene structures featuring vaulted substructions, such as the Red Hall, the cryptoporticus of the Asklepieion, the Odeion of the Palaestra in the Gymnaisum, and the Amphitheatre shows that this construction technique was typical for Roman Imperial substructures in Pergamon.<\/p>\n

During the examination of the surroundings, several arches and additional remains of the western vault were rediscovered. The arches west of the terrace (Fig. 4) correspond in both dimensions and position to those depicted in Schazmann\u2019s plan, supporting the reconstruction of a monumental staircase. Near the presumed junction of the two vaults at the south-westernmost point, another arch aligned with the eastern wall of the western vault was identified (Fig. 5). \u00a0An additional passage providing access to the terrace, located beside Koca Alan Soka\u011f\u0131 and corresponding to the opposing arches of the southern vault, is also indicated.<\/p>\n

The use of the southern vault as a cistern is confirmed by two 1.7 m thick front walls that divide the vault into several compartments, the presence of hydraulic mortar, and a Viertelstab<\/em>, a typical cistern element (Garbrecht 2001). Along Koca Alan Soka\u011f\u0131, one of the orthogonal closing walls of the cistern can be observed next to the abutment of an arch constructed from precisely set andesite blocks (Fig. 6).<\/p>\n\n\n

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Fig. 4 (left) Rediscovered arch west of the terrace, corresponding to the plan by Schazmann<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fig. 5 (right) Building documentation in the extension of the western vault<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fig. 6 Sectional view of the closing wall in the Koca Alan Sk.<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Given the dispersed nature of the remains of the \u2018Gurnellia\u2019, the documentation work focused on producing coherent plans of the entire structure to provide an overview of the related architectural elements. These plans form the basis for mapping construction phases and reconstructing the architecture.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, the architectural remains clearly date to the Roman Imperial period, and any earlier Hellenistic structures can only be hypothesized. Nonetheless, the location of the \u2018Gurnellia\u2019 at the foot of the city hill, together with its orientation and its proximity to the buildings of the lower city, suggests that it may have served as an important point of connection. The results of the building documentation point to a sophisticated, accessible substructure linking different levels and spaces. The work undertaken in the 2025 summer season clarified the relationships among the various components of the \u2018Gurnellia\u2019 and unified them in measured drawings and a photographic record. This small-scale overview, absent from Paul Schazmann\u2019s earlier plans, is essential for further research. Schazmann\u2019s drawings, which depict far more than survives today, can now largely be associated with the investigated areas and thus support ongoing attempts to reconstruct the substruction vaults and the presumed architecture framing the terrace.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

Conze \u2013 Schuchhardt 1899<\/p>\n

Conze \u2013 C. Schuchhardt, Die Arbeiten zu Pergamon 1886 \u2013 1898, Athener Mitteilungen 24, (Athen 1899), 97-240<\/p>\n

D\u00f6rpfeld 1910<\/p>\n

D\u00f6rpfeld, Die Arbeiten zu Pergamon 1908-1909, Athener Mitteilungen 35 (Athen 1910) 345-526<\/p>\n

Wulf-Rheidt 1994<\/p>\n

Wulf-Rheidt, Der Stadtplan von Pergamon. Zu Entwicklung und Stadtstruktur von der Neugr\u00fcndung unter Philetairos bis in sp\u00e4tantike Zeit, IstMitt 44 (T\u00fcbingen 1994) 135-175<\/p>\n

Radt 1999<\/p>\n

Radt, Pergamon: Geschichte und Bauten einer antiken Metropole (Darmstadt 1999)<\/p>\n

Garbrecht 2001<\/p>\n

Garbrecht, Stadt und Landschaft. Die Wasserversorgung von Pergamon, Altert\u00fcmer von Pergamon 1, 4 (Berlin 2001)<\/p>\n

Br\u00fcckener 2018<\/p>\n

Br\u00fcckener, Die Rote Halle in Pergamon \u2013 Baugeschichte und urbaner Kontext (Brandenburgische Technische Universit\u00e4t Cottbus-Senftenberg 2018)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2025 reexamination of Pergamon\u2019s \u2018Gurnellia\u2019 clarified its Roman Imperial substructures \u2014 vaulted terraces, cistern adaptations, and monumental stair elements \u2014 by integrating new surveys with early 20th-century plans. Rediscovered arches and detailed documentation now allow coherent reconstruction of this key connecting architectural complex on the city\u2019s southwestern slope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":305,"featured_media":2701,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,1],"tags":[42,40,25,44,39],"class_list":["post-2706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bauforschung-eng","category-projekt-eng","tag-building-archaeology","tag-dfg","tag-pergamon","tag-transpergmicro","tag-transpergmikro"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/transpergmikro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2706"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/transpergmikro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/transpergmikro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/transpergmikro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/305"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/transpergmikro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2706"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/transpergmikro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2710,"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/transpergmikro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2706\/revisions\/2710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/transpergmikro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/transpergmikro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/transpergmikro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/transpergmikro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}