Bodrum Museum |
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Bodrum Museum contains the largest collection of underwater finds in the world and includes hundreds of underwater finds, in addition to those from the Gelidonya, Byzantine and Roman wrecks. The finds exhibited here are of immense variety, and range from nautical gear and anchors of the type still used today to earthenware floats. Bodrum owes the wealth of its museum to its sponge-divers, and up to quite recent years a great number of finds were brought back to Bodrum Museum by the 300 boats that set out every year to gather sponges. Objects recovered from the sea can also be seen exhibited here and there outside museum itself, while amphorae of a beauty to excite any art lover lie concealed in corners of the houses awaiting the attention of the scholar. Bodrum Museum was first opened as a depot to house the finds brought to Bodrum from the Gelidonya wreck in 1960, but very quickly grew into one of Turkey's largest museums. The Goddess Isis
who could keep them from harm. The old Greek and Roman sailors found what they were looking for in a goddess of Egyptian descent. This was the goddess lsis, the cow-horned goddess. Her promises of an everlasting life after death won her the allegiance of poor people who had little to hope for in this world, and figurines of the goddess were in great demand. One of these is the bronze statuette of lsis sold to the Bodrum Museum by Riza Sarac. This was found in the sea off Yalikavak near Bodrum in 1963. Height 28 cms. This is a bronze statuette representing a standing women. The goddess is looking to the right and has on her head the horns of a cow and disc crown The hair is parted in the middle and gathered into a bun at the back of the neck under the crown. There are four plaits of hair at the front and back and long-ear-rings in the ears. She is wearing a triangular, sleeveless chiton with collar, which reveals the right breast and is covered by a mantle. The mantle leaves the right shoulder completely bare and hangs down over the left shoulder, producing a series of folds under the left arm. The light dress under this mantle reaches as far as the ankles. The right arm is broken off at the shoulder and is missing, while the left arm is slightly bent at the elbow and attached to the body. The left hand is broken off at the wrist and is missing. The way in which the dress sweeps out at the back suggests that the right foot was placed to the rear. This statuette probably dates from the Hellenistic period. Statue of a Negro Boy
Height 47 cms. The boy is wearing a tunic which completely covers the right shoulder and is brought over to the left. It was probably held on the right shoulder by a buckle. A large fold can be seen in the collar. The material covers the upper part of the arms and produces very broad folds under the armpits. The dress is very broad folds under the armpits. The dress is very full and is tied by a sash under the belly, which shows the swelling typical of malaria. The folds at the rear are triangular in form, but the back of the figure is broken and missing. The head is looking towards the front. The right arm is stretched slightly forward and the hand was probably holding a stick. The left arm is bent at the elbow. The hand is slightly open and seems to be grasping something. This standing figure represents a malarial negro boy. He is probably looking after the geese. A large number of such statues on social themes were made in Hellenistic times, and this figure displays very typical Hellenistic characteristics. The lsis and Negro statues were both recovered from the same wreck. Pot with Stand This is a pot made of red clay with out-turned rim, projecting handles with half rings underneath, a round body and a wide base. The rim is broken and parts are missing. This probably belongs to the classical period (5th - 6th centuries B.C.) Diameter of rim 33 cms. Chamber Pot
Diameter of rim 33.5 cms.
This is a brazier made of lead, with a semicircular fireplace, and a rectangular section in front of this. Behind the fireplace there is a reservoir in the form of a pipe for boiling water. This reservoir also goes under the fireplace, thus serving a double purpose in providing a supply of hot water and at the same time preventing the lead in the fireplace from melting. This brazier may be dated to the 1st or end of the 2nd century B.C. Height 24.5 cms. Float
Floats of oak bark are known to have been used in antiquity, but this is the first time an earthenware flat has been encountered. Diameter of body 25 cms Amphora With Handles This is a very rare type of amphora. Owing to its weight and large capacity it must have been carried by two people by means of a pole passed through the handles. Diameter of rim 11.5 cms. This amphora closely resembles a grave find in the Silifke Museum, and probably belongs to the 4th or 3rd century B.C. Stone Anchor This is made of rough grey stone and is in the form of a square with curved top. In the centre there is a cross and on the cross the letters N and O. These are probably the initials of a proper name. The anchor has three holes. The one on top is for a rope, the two below for wooden stakes. This anchor probably belongs to the early Christian or Byzantine period. Widest part 29 cms. Lead Anchor Head In the centre is a square shank socket with tapering arms projecting out at each Side. As the surface of the anchor head is heavily oxidised no names or religious signs can be deciphered. The anchor head found in the wreck of the Mehdiyye at Tunis weighs 695 kgs. Length 190 cms. Lead anchors began to be used in ships from the 6th century B.C. onwards. This type of anchor consisted of a combination of wood, lead and iron. The body and arms of the anchor were usually of wood, while the connecting piece and anchor head were of lead. In some cases the clamps were of iron, and iron was used in the flukes. They lead anchor with preserved wooden section recovered from lake Nemi in Italy makes the reconstruction of this type of anchor possible (fig. 10). From the 2nd century A.D. lead anchors began to be replaced by iron ones. Rhiton This is a pot in the shape of a human head, with a single handle and a long round sharp rim at the very top. The hair is arranged in curls, and these are very clearly rendered around the face and brow. The head has beetling eyebrows and large eyes, these being very skilfully worked. The nose is full and the lips thin. There is a dimple on the chin. The base is flat. This rhiton displays the characteristics of the Roman period and may be dated to the 2nd century A.D. Diameter of body 15 cms.Diameter of base 10 cms. Height 21 cms. |
The sailors who set out to sea in their small boats to face unknown dangers sought the protection of gods and goddesses 
This is a bronze statue broken off below the waist. The figure is of short stature, with curly hair, a flat nose and thick lips. The hair, eyebrows, mouth, nose and lips are all typically negroid in character. There is a hole in the pupil of the left eye, but the hollow in the pupil of the right suggests that the pupils were made of precious stones. The ears are small. The upper portion of the head and the nostrils are broken and missing. An examination of the head shows that the bronze was cast in sections and then assembled. 
This is a pot of brick-coloured clay with projecting rim, a cylindrical concave body and a handle in the form of a band. There is a deep crack in the bottom. A rare and interesting scene in Greek vase paintings is that showing a child on a chamber pot. This one, recovered from the depth of the 
This float is made of light brown clay and has a spherical body with a ring-shaped handle. It had sunk as the result of a perforation in the body and must have lain for centuries at the bottom of the sea. 
This is an amphora of light brown clay with a raised rim, no neck, two handles rising straight up from the shoulders and a lower portion in the form of a cone.