There was an explosion of activity that caught me entirely by surprise around the Temple last week. A pleasurable shock, but a shock nonetheless, writes Glenn Maffia.

I was alerted by Voices that the team from the German Archaeological Institute (GAI) were back in town and had begun to erect scaffolding up to the summit of the three remaining columns. I had never before known them to ascend this far into the ‘province of the gods’.

Surprise followed surprise, as the Director of Excavations deemed to make a public announcement of expressing her and the GAI’s intent, something which is utterly alien to her nature previously. I was pleased at her candour and lucidness after all these years.

Financial fluctuations

Though something is nagging me; this is an auspiciously grand and public project, and also a very expensive one to conduct. The scaffolding alone would be very costly, whilst I know that the GAI have been starved of finance for the best part of a decade. Yes, even Germany with their successful economy has had to curb their outgoings during the habitual fluctuations of the markets.

There was also the information I received at the turn of the year that the GAI were concluding their project in Didyma this year (subject, naturally, to the Covid pandemic). This news was echoed by murmurings locally, in positions of knowing, that a Turkish archaeological team were to take up the baton here on in. Which fits well with knowledge that the Government here desire to have a more direct control over the artefacts within the country.

It has been mandatory for some years now to have a minimum of 51% of Turkish nationals working on an archaeological project and that the country does have a good number of home grown archaeologists unemployed. It appears a logical step to take if, indeed, we can guarantee the same quality.

Cosmetic not research

During her announcement, the Director of Excavations suggested the maintenance of the columns would be completed within two months. I find that an ambitious timescale, especially after visiting the site and finding merely a solitary figure atop the scaffolding conducting some investigative tasks. Admittedly, I wasn’t expecting a swarming hive of activity this early into the work, but a solitary soul?

I have no doubt some extensive maintenance is acutely necessary on the 2,300 year old columns, for they have certainly taken many a shaking over that impressive timeline. If only the stones could speak, what could they tell us?

Though what will we finally be presented with? Hopefully more stable and secure columns, but indistinguishable from what we see today. This has nothing to do with research, the explicit aim of archaeology, which makes me think that this a ‘fond farewell’ to the Didyma site for the GAI and a parting favour to the Turkish hosts on what has been a fruitful relationship.

It is purely an assumption on my part, for I am not privileged to the machinations which go on behind closed doors, but financially I believe this non-research project is being bankrolled by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism utilising the GAI experience and technical knowledge of how to complete this, literally, monumental task.