The Evolution of the Church of St. John at Ephesos during the Early Byzantine Period

This article retraces the phases of construction of the church of St. John at Ephesos from the late fourth to the sixth century. In spite of the importance of this monument as a landmark of Early Byzantine Ephesus and a masterpiece of Justinianic architecture, our knowledge of its history is limited. Although excavations during the 20th century revealed a series of overlapping layers of construction, visualising these layers and establishing their chronology is fraught with difficulties. The present article aims to tackle this challenge by reviewing all the evidence published by the excavators. Analysing the form and structure of the fragmentary remains of the building and interpreting them by reference to written records sheds new light on the form of the original, Early Christian church and its transformation during the times of Justinian.