A detail of the Doric Friese: Triglyph ears

In the Doric frieze, the small ornamental patterns engraved close to the upper ends of the half triglyphs, bordering the triglyphs are defined as "ears". In this study, 66 different triglyph ears from Anatolia and the immediate vicinity are evaluated, and those are separated into 7 groups according to their shapes. Based on the data gathered in this study, we determined that the different types of triglyphs should be grouped separately, and each group should be studied independently without anticipation of a linear stylistic development. In Anatolian Doric architecture, our first evidence for the the triglyph ear comes from Labraunda Andron B, shortly after which the decorative motif became widespread. The first examples of the closed triglyph ears, made by opening an oval hole on top of the half glyphs, are classified as Type TK1. In the 2nd half of the 4th century BC, the auricle (or pinna) was carved in the shape of a teardrop. Unlike earlier examples, the lower part of the auricle was pointed, and there was a gap left between this part and the surface of the triglyph (Type TK2). At the end the 4th century BC, the lower part of the auricle became thicker, and with this a new form classified as Type TK3. Even though Type TK1 was used on a few buildings after 4th century BC, Types TK2 and TK3 continued to be in use until the Augustan period. The reverse L-shaped triglyph ears classified as Type TK4, are found in only 3 Doric buildings in the 2nd century BC. The D-shaped auricle (Type TK5) and the high relief conical form ornaments (Type TK6) are used on the structures of the early Imperial period. During the 3rd century BC, the reverse S-shaped triglyph ears (Type TK7), were used in 3 buildings in western Anatolia and the East Greek islands, and went out of use by the end of the century. The triglyph ears first seen in Labraunda Andron B dated to 377-353 BC, were used as decorative elements in mainland Greece around the 3rd quarter of the 4th century BC. In Anatolian Doric architecture the triglyph ears are classified in seven different types, and they are considered to be decorative elements given their dimensions and detailed work. They were likely invented by Anatolian architects, accustomed to the more decorative style of Ionic architecture, and introduced to the plain Doric frieze.