Market Gate of Miletus
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| Material | marble |
|---|---|
| Created | 2nd century AD |
| Period/culture | Roman |
| Place | Miletus |
| Present location | Pergamon Museum, Berlin |
| Registration | ? |
The Market Gate of Miletus (German: das Markttor von Milet) is a large marble monument in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany. It was built in Miletus in the 2nd century AD and destroyed in an earthquake in the 10th or 11th century. In the early 1900s, it was excavated, rebuilt, and placed on display in the museum. Only fragments had survived and reconstruction involved significant new material, a practice which generated criticism of the museum. The gate was damaged in World War II and underwent restoration in the 1950s. Further restoration work took place in the first decade of the 21st century.
The gate is a large marble monument, about 30 meters wide, 16 meters tall, and 5 meters deep. The two-story structure has three doorways and a number of projections and niches. At roof level and in between the floors are ornate friezes with bull and flower reliefs. The structure's protruding pediments are supported by Corinthian and composite columns. The gate is not entirely original, as little of the base and lower floor survived the centuries; additional material includes brick, cement, and steel. The gate is affixed by iron girders to the wall behind it.
While in Miletus, niches on the second story featured statues of emperors, some fighting against barbarians.
The gate was built in the 2nd century AD, most likely during the reign of Emperor Hadrian about 120 to 130 AD. It replaced an existing Doric propylon and served as the northern entrance to the southern market, or agora, in Miletus, an ancient city in what is now Turkey. The gate underwent restoration in the 3rd century following damage from an earthquake. When Justinian strengthened the defenses of Miletus in 538, the gate was incorporated into the city walls. In the 10th or 11th century, an earthquake caused the gate to collapse. Fragments of the structure were scavenged and used in surrounding buildings, but the majority subsided into the ground.
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