Academia.eduAcademia.edu

A Great Tumulus from Paphlagonia

2019, Settlements and Necropoleis of the Black Sea and its Hinterland in Antiquity Gocha R. Tsetskhladze and Sümer Atasoy with the collaboration of

Abstract The Great Göztepe Tumulus, which is located in the city of Safranbolu in inland Paphlagonia, has been little studied so far. The salvage excavations initiated in 2011 revealed an unprecedented tomb structure in the region. At the centre of the tumulus there is a stone circle with a diameter of 15 m constructed in the dry masonry technique. Inside this circle there is a tholos tomb in the form of beehive which is filled with soil. This tomb is constructed in the dry masonry technique as well. The tumulus was exposed to looting many times by tomb raiders, hence there is not a solid finding in the tomb inventory. However a number of pottery sherds found inside the tomb structure shows that the tumulus dates back to the Middle Phrygian period. Although the architecture of the tomb does not correspond to traditional Phrygian tomb architecture, it is considered that the owner of the tomb was a local noble who lived in the Phrygian period. In and around Safranbolu there are very few remains dating to Phrygian period and these are located in the Soğanlı valley to the south-east. Examples of Phrygian influence in the valley are some open-air altars dedicated to Cybele and the façade of a Hellenistic-period rock-cut tomb. There are dozens of tumuli over the hills close to Safranbolu.

Settlements and Necropoleis of the Black Sea and its Hinterland in Antiquity Select papers from the third international conference ‘The Black Sea in Antiquity and Tekkeköy: An Ancient Settlement on the Southern Black Sea Coast’, 27-29 October 2017, Tekkeköy, Samsun edited by Gocha R. Tsetskhladze and Sümer Atasoy with the collaboration of Akın Temür and Davut Yiğitpaşa Archaeopress Archaeology Archaeopress Publishing Ltd Summertown Pavilion 18-24 Middle Way Summertown Oxford OX2 7LG www.archaeopress.com ISBN 978-1-78969-206-8 ISBN 978-1-78969-207-5 (e-Pdf) © Authors and Archaeopress 2019 Cover: Sebastopolis, Roman baths. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners. Printed in England by Oxuniprint, Oxford This book is available direct from Archaeopress or from our website www.archaeopress.com Contents Preface ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ iii List of Figures and Tables ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� iv Once again about the Establishment Date of Some Greek Colonies around the Black Sea ������������������������������������1 Gocha R� Tsetskhladze The Black Sea on the Tabula Peutingeriana�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������42 A�V� Podossinov Archaic East Greek Transport Amphorae: Secure Advances and Muddles. An Assessment �������������������������������52 Pierre Dupont Western Black Sea Tekkeköy: Land of Legends from Past to the Future ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������69 Sümer Atasoy An Epigram for a Sinopean from Tomis �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������77 Alexandru Avram Late Classical-Hellenistic Imports at Açic Suat (Caraburun) (4th-3rd Century BC)�����������������������������������������������82 Vasilica Lungu Northern Black Sea The Chronology of Arrowhead and Dolphin-Shaped Monetary Signs from Berezan ��������������������������������������������99 Dmitry Chistov Essay on the Economy of Myrmekion in Pre-Roman Times ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������108 Alexander Butyagin and Alexei Kasparov The Necropolis of Porthmion (from the Excavations of 2004-2013) ������������������������������������������������������������������������113 M�Y� Vakhtina and P�G� Stolyarenko Artyushchenko-1 Settlement on the Taman Peninsula (6th Century BC-4th Century AD) �������������������������������126 Yurii A� Vinogradov Eastern Black Sea The Southern Pontic Import Discovered at Classical Period Sites in Ajara �����������������������������������������������������������139 Amiran Kakhidze and Emzar Kakhidze A Brief Report on the Archaeological Excavations in Gonio-Apsarus, 2014-2017 ������������������������������������������������145 Shota Mamuladze and Kakhaber Kamadadze Southern Black Sea The Traces of the Chalcolithic Culture of Alaca Höyük in the Coastal Settlements of the Central Black Sea Region of Turkey ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������157 Hulya Çalışkan Akgül i The Baruthane Tumuli at Amisos/Samsun����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������167 Sümer Atasoy Evaluations of Iron Finds from the Fatsa Cıngırt Kayası Excavations ���������������������������������������������������������������������177 Ayşe Fatma Erol and Ertaç Yıldırım New Archaeological Expeditions in the Ancient City of Amastris ����������������������������������������������������������������������������190 Fatma Bağdatlı Çam, Ali Bora and Handan Bilici Altunkayalıer The Ancient City of Sebastopolis in the Light of Archaeological Data and Inscriptions ������������������������������������208 Şengül Dilek Ful Politics and Diplomacy in Paphlagonia ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������214 Manolis Manoledakis A Great Tumulus from Paphlagonia ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������226 Şahin Yıldırım The Land of Sacred Fire: Amasya – Oluz Höyük �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������244 Şevket Dönmez An Overview of Iron Age Sites of Zile District ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������258 Mehmet Özsait and Nesrin Özsait Evaluation of the Recent Finds at Komana from the Early and Middle Byzantine Period ��������������������������������272 Mustafa N� Tatbul and D� Burcu Erciyas A Group of Glass Bracelets from Samsun Museum��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������281 Akın Temür and Özkan Özbilgin Some Observations on the Dating of the Kavak Bekdemir Mosque in Samsun�����������������������������������������������������289 E� Emine Naza Dönmez List of Contributors�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������299 ii A Great Tumulus from Paphlagonia Şahin Yıldırım Abstract The Great Göztepe Tumulus, which is located in the city of Safranbolu in inland Paphlagonia, has been little studied so far. The salvage excavations initiated in 2011 revealed an unprecedented tomb structure in the region. At the centre of the tumulus there is a stone circle with a diameter of 15 m constructed in the dry masonry technique. Inside this circle there is a tholos tomb in the form of beehive which is filled with soil. This tomb is constructed in the dry masonry technique as well. The tumulus was exposed to looting many times by tomb raiders, hence there is not a solid finding in the tomb inventory. However a number of pottery sherds found inside the tomb structure shows that the tumulus dates back to the Middle Phrygian period. Although the architecture of the tomb does not correspond to traditional Phrygian tomb architecture, it is considered that the owner of the tomb was a local noble who lived in the Phrygian period. In and around Safranbolu there are very few remains dating to Phrygian period and these are located in the Soğanlı valley to the south-east. Examples of Phrygian influence in the valley are some open-air altars dedicated to Cybele and the façade of a Hellenistic-period rock-cut tomb. There are dozens of tumuli over the hills close to Safranbolu. Introduction the 7th and 6th centuries BC, new settlements started to emerge around almost all the strategic natural harbours and at the river mouths whence transport to the interior was easy. In this period, cities such as Sinope, Sesamos, Cromna, Cytoros, Ionopolis and Abanouteichos emerged on the coast of Paphlagonia and contributed to the significant economic development of the region through their commercial activities.5 Safranbolu and its surroundings fall into the region known since the Iron Age as Paphlagonia, which is also mentioned by Homer in the Illiad (2. 851-857). It covers the western and central parts of the southern Black Sea region. It is believed that the Parthenios river (today the Bartın) constitutes the western boundary of Paphlagonia and the Halys river (Kızılırmak) forms the eastern limits of the region. The Black Sea was the northern limit, and Galatia and Phrygia were the southern boundary of the region. In modern sources there is not consensus on the ancient name of Safranbolu.6 Although some researchers claim the ancient name of the city was Dadybra,7 the same name is also offered for Daday and Devrek.8 Until now no inscription or Roman coin has been found to verify the ancient name of the city. The fortress and its surroundings are considered to be the centre of the city but no archaeological excavation has been conducted at these sites so far. Several archaeological sources state the name of the city was Theodorapolis and Germia in the Byzantine period.9 In Paphlagonia, finds from the early periods are very scarce. However, archaeological studies conducted in recent years show that settlement of the interior of the region commenced in the Palaeolithic.1 On the other hand, quite a few settlements dating to the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages were revealed as a result of these studies.2 From the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age the southern parts of the region especially came under the rule of the Hittite empire. Hittite texts state that local tribes such as the Palas and Kaskas existed at the northern part of the region.3 Paphlagonia was exposed to Phrygian and Cimmerian invasions respectively after the collapse of the Hittite empire with great chaos.4 Herodotus (1. 16) states that for a period the region came under the rule of the Lydian kingdom. However, the archaeological evidence for this period in Paphlagonia is quite limited. The Greek cities were located in the coastal areas of Paphlagonia. With the increasing colonisation movement, especially between Nothing has survived today of the ancient architectural structures of the city. Nevertheless, the rocky place called the fortress probably formed the Acropolis of the settlement in ancient times. Spread over the hills surrounding the Acropolis are the only ancient representatives of the city: the tumuli. One of these is called Göztepeler. Another large-scale example is located in a district called Gümüş on a hill near the fortress. Safranbolu is quite rich in tumuli. There are 5 Tsetskhladze 1994: 117; 1998; Boardman 1964: 245-47. Ulukavak 2017: 17-28. Gökoğlu 1952: 33; Yazıcıoğlu and Al 1982: 33-38; Soykan and Gür 2015: 103. 8 Wittek 1969; Çelikdönmez 2000: 58; Umar 1993: 211. 9 Ainsworth 1842: 65; Leonhard 1915: 140-41; Gökoğlu 1952: 33. 6 1 2 3 4 7 Kökten 1948; 1951. Özdoğan et al. 1997; 1998; 1999; Matthews and Glatz 2009. Ünal 2003: 48-63. Ruge 1949: 2516. 226