Basilica Wall Inscriptions (Graffiti)
Smyrna’s Agora literally witnessed the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. The basilica within contains the world’s richest collection of Ancient Greek graffiti to boot. After all, what didn’t people paint on walls 1,800 years ago? In terms of content: stuff about gladiators, trade, warships, rivalry between Ephesos and Smyrna, word games, riddles, writings on eye anatomy and eye health, and some of the world’s earliest Christian texts… just to list a few. All of it offers scholars invaluable clues about what life was like back then for your average Smyrnite.
Inscriptions found in two galleries (in the southern end of the basement) were written using a black – albeit sometimes red – ink made from oak charcoal or scratched into plaster using a sharp tool – both on the walls and arch piers. Technically speaking, the former is called dipinti; the latter, graffiti.
Estimates date the inscriptions to the 2nd and 4th Centuries AD.
