Market Gate of Miletus

Scale model of Miletus in the Pergamon Museum, showing the market gate right of top-center.[7]

The gate was built in the 2nd century AD, most likely during the reign of Emperor Hadrian about 120 to 130 AD.[1][2] It replaced an existing Doric propylon and served as the northern entrance to the southern market, or agora, in Miletus, an ancient Greek city in what is now Turkey.[8][6] The gate underwent restoration in the 3rd century following damage from an earthquake.[6] When Justinian strengthened the defenses of Miletus in 538, the gate was incorporated into the city walls.[9] In the 10th or 11th century, an earthquake caused the gate to collapse. Fragments of the structure were scavenged and used in surrounding buildings, but the majority subsided into the ground.[10]

The gate shortly after reassembly; the differently colored sections show the incompleteness of the original

A Greek inscription on the back wall of the Market Gate of Miletus. The inscription is original but its surrounding blocks are modern. It translates to: "For the good fortune of the sacred city council and the sacred fleet! This is the place of the barber Achilleus."

German archaeologist Theodor Wiegand conducted a series of excavations in Miletus from 1899 through 1911.[11] In 1903, the Market Gate of Miletus was excavated and from 1907 to 1908, fragments of the gate were transported to Berlin.[10] Wiegand wrote in his diaries that he gave a presentation using models to Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was so impressed that he ordered the gate's reconstruction at full scale "like a theater backdrop" in the Pergamon Museum.[12]

From 1925 to 1929, the gate was reassembled in the recently expanded museum from over 750 tons of fragments.[10] However, the fragments did not constitute the entirety of the gate, and fill material had to be used in the reconstruction.[13] Reconstruction began by assembling the middle-floor entablature and placing the second storey columns on top, followed by reconstructing the pediments.[14] A base and ground floor were then inserted below. Brick and cement reinforced with steel supplemented the few remains of the lower structure.[5] Original column fragments were bored out, leaving a thickness of 3 to 4 centimetres (1.2 to 1.6 in), and filled with steel and mortar.[1] In the 1920s and 1930s, the museum was criticized for portraying its monuments as originals when they consisted significantly of non-original material.[15]

The gate suffered significant damage from aerial bombardment in World War II.[10] The roof and skylight above the gate were destroyed along with a protective brick wall.[8] The right wing collapsed and the structure was damaged by fire and shrapnel;[10] the loss of the brick wall also exposed the gate to weathering for two years.[1] After winter passed, a temporary roof was constructed to protect the gate from the elements. From 1952 to 1954, the structure was extensively restored under the supervision of archaeologist H. H. Völker. However, little documentation exists detailing what specific work took place.[10]

The next major restoration work took place in the decade of the 2000s.[16] The gate had deteriorated from a combination of indoor atmospheric effects and incompatible building materials.[1] Fragments of the gate have spontaneously loosened and fallen, necessitating the addition of a fence in front of the structure to protect visitors.[10] The state of the structure was documented prior to restoration, from about 2003 through 2004, including the production of three-dimensional photogrammetric models due to the gate's architectural complexity.[2][3] In December 2005, scaffolding was erected around the structure with a transparent protective cover on the outside and within the entrance tunnel. The scaffolding and cover were removed in late 2008 following the initial restoration phase.[16]

• Bilsel, Can (2012). Antiquity on Display: Regimes of the Authentic in Berlin's Pergamon Museum. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199570553.
• Fodor's (2009). Fodor's See It Germany, 3rd Edition. Random House Digital, Inc. ISBN 9781400003877.
• "Re-unveiling of the market gate of Miletus after completion of the initial phase of restoration". Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. November 18, 2008. Archived from the original on May 26, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
• Ringle, K.; Nutto, M.; Voegtle, T.; Pfanner, M.; Maischberger, M. (2004). "3D Modelling of the Market Gate of Miletus Developed from Photogrammetric Evaluations" (PDF). The International Archives of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Science. The International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. XXXV, Part B.
• Siegesmund, Siegfried; Middendorf, Bernhard (2008). "The Market Gate of Miletus: damages, material characteristics and the development of a compatible mortar for restoration". Environmental Geology. 56 (3–4): 753–766. doi:10.1007/s00254-008-1475-x. S2CID 140595375. (subscription required)
• Vögtle, T.; Ringle, K.; Nutto, M.; Bähr, H.-P.; Pfanner, M.; Zens, F.; Maischberger, M. (2003). "Photogrammetric Recording and Evaluation of the Market Gate of Miletus for Architectural Heritage Conservation" (PDF). Proceedings of the CIPA 2003 XIXth International Symposium: 350–355. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2012.