Religious Practices and Functional Continuity in the Late Antique Phaselis: Epigraphic Finds from the Central Harbor and Surroundings

This article adopts a holistic approach to evaluating the new finds unearthed during the 2023–2024 excavation seasons at the Central Harbor Structures of Phaselis, together with epigraphic documents from the 2015 surveys and earlier research. The study focuses primarily on three inscribed metal finds of the Late An­tique and Byzantine periods (two protective rings and a bronze reliquary cross), unearthed in the Central Har­bor Structures and in a shop outside the harbor area. In addition, three inscribed stone fragments recovered from various parts of the city and from earlier excavations and surveys are analyzed with respect to their epigraphic content, as they provide comparative data on the religious practices and urban onomastics of the period. The recovery of the inscribed amuletic metal finds from contexts such as shops, workshops and store­rooms documents that, in Late Antique Phaselis, religious and apotropaic practices extended beyond institu­tional architecture and formed an integral part of commercial and everyday life. Traces of uninterrupted use of the Central Harbor from the 4th century BCE to the mid-7th century CE, together with subsequent archi­tectural adaptations, demonstrate that the area retained its functional flexibility even during periods of urban contraction. The Middle Byzantine reliquary cross from the shop sector further confirms that habitation in the area continued into later periods. In conclusion, the study sheds light not only on the commercial func­tions of the Central Harbor Structures of Phaselis but also on their multilayered character, in which socio-religious practices were intertwined, and on their functional continuity over time.