Building with the Relics of Antiquity – the Early Byzantine Use of Spolia in the Vaulted Churches of West Asia Minor

The remains of the early Byzantine churches of west Asia Minor are real repositories

delicate sculptural ornamentation. Omnipresent in the vaulted basilicas of Ephesus, Sardis,

construction technology and attitudes towards architectural heritage.

The realisation of this potential has led to attempts to interpret the use of spolia on

study of the structural role of reused elements and the constructional reasons for their

My documentation of the use of spolia in St. John and St. Mary at Ephesus, Building

investigation of the origins of spolia, as well as the study of the way in which antique

aspect of church construction in some of the most creative centres of the early Byzantine

of architectural elements. The first championed the skilful integration of spolia into the new

architectural statements that emphasized historical continuity. However, such uses of spolia

value and form of antique elements, attributing to them no greater attention than the one

given to any stone block, old or new.