The 2011 to 2016 excavation campaigns at Site PQ2, Sagalassos. Dissecting a suburban club house (schola)

Immediately northeast of Sagalassos lies its Eastern Suburbium (formerly known as the Potters' Quarter), which has been the subject of research since 1987. Since 2011, the Sagalassos Archaeological Research Project intensified its efforts within this suburban quarter in the context of several research projects. One of its foci was the site PQ 2, located at the intersection of the Roman imperial era Potters' Quarter and a zone with more monumental buildings. The field work at this site could be finalised during the 2016 summer campaign, after previous campaigns executed in the period 2011-2014. The excavations revealed a hall-like building, measuring c. 12.5 m by 10.7 m, erected around the middle of the 1st century AD. Its main feature was a water fountain against the centre of the back wall, opposing the main northern entrance and few other indications regarding its original purpose. The building was subsequently extended towards the south and subdivided into rooms around the turn of the century. The second-third century AD dumps of fauna and crockery outside the building bear testimony to regular communal dining practices, consisting of mainly simple meals in the style of a soup-kitchen. The almost complete remains of one final dining event could be documented inside the building, which was abandoned immediately afterwards . Based on its suburban location, its architectural characteristics and the well-preserved find assemblages, an identification as an association hall or club house is proposed. These scholae and their associated activities are well known from ancient written sources, but there is far less archaeological data available, especially for the eastern part of the empire.status: publishe