International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Silvia Pedone
Koç University, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for Late Antique 
and Byzantine Studies (GABAM), Istanbul, Turkey; 
[e-mail]
Contextualizing Late Antique and Byzantine Architectural Sculpture 
in the Capital`s Hinterland: the Küçükyalı ArkeoPark Project
The archaeological site of Küçükyalı is located on the Asian side of the modern city of Istanbul, 
close to the Marmara sea shoreline facing the Princes’ Islands. With its massive retaining walls, the 
remains of a large cistern, a relatively large sized 
katholikon
and other architectural features, the 
monument displays the characteristics of high ranking Middle Byzantine patronage. Küçükyalı is 
currently identified as the monastery of
 Satyros
or 
Anatellon
founded by the Constantinopolitan 
patriarch Ignatios between 867 and 877 CE. During the Middle Ages this area was part of the agricultural 
and wooded hinterland of Constantinople, integrated into a network of suburban structures.
After extensive work in 2009 – 2010, the Küçükyalı remains have been object of continued 
stratigraphical excavation and conservation works in 2014, 2015 continuing in 2016. 
From the perspective of architectural sculpture research, the Küçükyalı excavations offer a 
unique opportunity for a better understanding of Constantinopolitan architectural sculpture, 
particularly for the Middle Byzantine period. Material retrieved at the monastery of 
Satyros
displays 
some of the elaborate patterns and features documented some decades later at the northern church 
of the monastery of Constantine Lips. This poster aims at presenting the architectural sculpture 
retrieved at Küçükyalı, analyze its features and the architectural context it was part of.

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