Excavations at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Demre, Antalya, have been underway since 1989 in the religious and secular buildings around the church, which presumably belonged to a monastery in the Middle Ages. Flooded and buried underground by the overflow of Myros Creek, the buildings are approximately 6 m below the ground level today. The first phase of the church is dated to the Early Byzantine period, whereas the currently intact structure is dated to the Middle Ages. As the ground floor of the church was buried, the Greeks living in the area during Ottoman times continued to worship in a chapel they added to the gallery floor. These Greeks maintained their ties with the structure during the Ottoman era as well. In addition to the small finds unearthed during the excavations, glass bracelets are among the ornaments that belonged to the different communities settled here from the early phases of the church until its final period of use in the early 20th century. The glass bracelets discovered in the Church of Saint Nicholas excavations between 1989 and 1995 have been reviewed by B. Y. Olcay, whereas the thirty-eight Byzantine-period glass bracelets discovered in the excavations between 1989 and 2003 have been studied and evaluated by Ö. Çömezoğlu under the heading “Jewelry” in her PhD thesis. Glass bracelets discovered in the church were also briefly introduced in the excavation reports and in various articles. There was an increase in the number of bracelets discovered during the excavations conducted in the 2004-2009 and 2012-2016 periods. At the same time, glass bracelets possibly dated to the Ottoman era were also excavated. The total number of bracelets unearthed between 1989 and 2016 amounts to 127. In this study, bracelets categorized in groups as Early Byzantine, Middle Byzantine, and Ottoman have been studied in terms of form, production, and ornamentation techniques, as well as typology. In addition, they have been compared with glass bracelet finds discovered in other excavations across Anatolia. Some examples of the painted glass bracelets with round, oval, or flat cross-sections in shades of blue and green that feature spun-glass band decorations point to homogenous manufacturing. However, it is difficult to make definite assessments about their production. Nevertheless, archaeological evidence found in excavations reveal the presence of a workshop or workshops producing glass in Myra. Therefore, it can be presumed that the bracelets may have been manufactured at the same workshops. When the glass bracelets found in the church are compared to examples discovered in other excavation centers, it appears that they possess certain characteristics of the Early and Middle Byzantine period. The absence of the typical productions of the 13th century, on the other hand, can be explained both by the changing political and economic status of Myra, as well as the population decline and settlement changes caused by the disastrous flood the area suffered in the 13th century.
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