Archaeology of Northwestern Anatolia (Troad)

The book attempts to present –for the first time in the international bibliography– a detailed description of the historical life of Abydos (Άβυδος) of Hellespont (Ελλήσποντος, Δαρδανέλλια); the latter was an important ancient and medieval Greek city, situated on the Asiatic shore of Dardanelles, at the once narrowest part of the local Straits (usually named "Stenon of Abydos") and in the surrounding area of the promontory of Nara (an Ottoman and modern Turkish naval base, where free access is prohibited). The monograph also detects the  relations between Abydos and other known settlements in the wider region of northwestern Asia Minor (Troad, Hellespont, Mysia, Hellespontine Phrygia).

Αbydos was founded predominantly as a colony of Miletus (ca. 680-650 BC) and had a continuous historical life that lasted about 2.000 years (mid. 7th c. BC - early 14th c. AD). The prosperous ancient city minted various coins between 6th c. BC - 3rd c. AD. Its lively port was used for centuries as a key point for the passage from Europe to Asia and the cruise from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea (and vice versa) as well as a major customs station ("telonion Abydou" during the Roman imperial years, "demosion teloneion" or "kommerkion" or "dekateuterion Abydou" during the medieval period of the city). Byzantine Abydos was also an important administrative center, a military and naval base and an ecclesiastical seat (bishopric and later metropolis).

However, the long and turbulent history of Abydos and its region is virtually unknown in modern years, despite the fact that the city's reputation was particularly widespread during ancient and medieval times in the Mediterranean world. Moreover, for many reasons noted in the book, the settlement does not exist archaeologically in the last two centuries. In short, Abydos constitutes a very interesting case of a virtually lost city during the modern times.

For various reasons, also described in the book, the importance of Abydos had declined during the 13th c. AD and the city was finally abandoned by its population in the early 14th c. AD., mainly because of the Turkish threat in the area. From mid. 15th c. AD the new city of Çanakkale was established gradually (initially named as Kale-i Sultaniye) 5-6 km to the south of Abydos. The ruins of the abandoned urban area of ​​the latter have been systematically pillaged -mainly for construction and other purposes- between the 14th - early 19th c. AD.

For the reconstruction of  the long historical life of Abydos (mid. 7th c. BC - early 14th c. AD) and an in-depth analysis of its numerous and largely unknown institutions, the study relies though on the information providing by the written (ancient and medieval) texts but also on the scarce and dispersed epigraphic and the much richer numismatic (the city minted coins between 6th c. BC - 3rd c. AD) and sigillographic data and other archaeological findings regarding (or deriving from) the city. It also takes into account all the contemporary related publications.

[VANIAS publications,  Thessaloniki 2017,  752 pages,  ISBN: 978-960-288-342-6,  text in Greek language with an English summary]

In the 2012 and 2013 excavation seasons at Assos, the western side of the Hellenistic era North Stoa was excavated to understand the chronology of the building from the stratigraphy of the  ll. Finds dating to the Late Roman period (mid­ late 2nd to mid-late 4th century) were found on a later  oor of the stoa. These Late Roman  nds were covered by a layer of soil 0.45-0.50m deep which concealed Early Byzantine pottery dated from the mid-late 4th to the 6th/7th century. This Early Byzantine layer was covered by rubble in the 6th century which concealed a variety of discoveries from the Classical period to the 6th-7th century. The Early Byzantine layer, however, revealed less complex finds. Some 54.47 % of the wares consisted of red slip table ware, while the rest consisted of coarse wares, storage / transport vessels, oil lamps and earlier unguentaria and black glazed wares.
Phocaean Red Slip Ware from the period between the second half of the 4th and the 6th /7th century is the most common table ware (90.56%). African Red Slip Ware imported from North African workshops between the 4th and the 6th centuries is another red slip table ware and constitutes 4.61 % of the total. Light Colored Ware, for which the Cnidian region is suggested as the production center, is a less common red slip table ware with 0.86%. Overall, 10.85% of the pottery consists of cooking ware including cooking pots and casseroles. Similar examples known as the Aegean type are found in the 5th century context of Corinth and Messene. Other forms found were the lids of cooking ware (2.54%) and kitchen ware (5.92%). Bowls or basins with an averted rim, which have incised decoration depicting waves, parallel lines or notches, are common amongst the kitchen ware. Similar kitchen ware from Ephesus, Miletus and Parion is dated to the 5th-6th century. 10.04% of the pottery is storage/trans- port vessels. The most common LRA 1 amphora has a nearly cylindrical neck ending, a concave rim, and a thick handle. The LRA 1 type of amphorae is known to have originated in Cilicia and Cyprus.

Recent archaeological surveys in 2009 and 2010 at Bozköy-Hanaytepe in the Troad have recovered material very similar to the Early Bronze Age levels of Troy. Bozköy-Hanaytepe located 13 km south of Troy, is about 110 m in diameter and 11-12 m in height. The site is a coastal settlement within what Korfmann described as the 'Maritime culture of Troy I'. To date, Bozköy-Hanaytepe is the only settlement to have material both from pre-Troy I and from the Bronze Age cultures in the Troad. This article presents the Early Bronze Age material and the small amount of earlier material collected during the Bozköy-Hanaytepe site surveys and aims to examine the typological and chronological aspects of this recent finds. The material is closely related to comparative, stratified material from sites in West Anatolia, the Eastern Aegean Islands, the Greek Mainland, the Cyclades, and the Balkans. Bozköy-Hanaytepe can be considered as an important settlement in terms of acreage and the material density distinct from Troy. While Troy is a large central city, most of the settlements so far investigated have been characterized as smaller or satellite towns. Bozköy-Hanaytepe is one of the important settlements in the * Bu makale Crosscheck sistemi tarafından taranmış ve bu sistem sonuçlarına göre orijinal bir makale olduğu tespit edilmiştir.

Recent surveys in the western coast of the Troad, an area facing the Aegean Sea, yielded new finds that represents the typical material culture of the early phases of Troy I. The finds embrace the transitional period between the Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age (EBA) known as Kumtepe IB period. It has been well established that the pottery of level I at Troy has close parallels at numerous sites, located both at the coastal regions and at sites far from the coast in Troad, as well as at sites of the adjacent northeastern Aegean Islands.
This study aims to examine the typological and chronological aspects of these recent survey finds recently identified at three coastal Troadic sites, namely Külahlı, Larisa-Limantepe and Colonae-Aktaşovası. The soundings carried out in Külahlı, located 1 km west of the Gülpınar, and identified two cultural levels belonging to EBA I and EBA III. The EBA I find from Külahlı displayed close parallels with those of Early Troy I. The surface investigations of Limantepe, near the ancient city of Larisa, yielded pottery typical of the Troy I period. The majority of the pottery found in Aktaşovası  near ancient Colonae, also belongs to the early phase of Troy I. The surveys conducted by T. Takaoğlu demonstrated that the western coast of the Troad is rich in finds, representing the pre-Troy I and Troy I periods in the region.

Abstract: The settlements of various periods from the Neolithic Period to the end of the Iron Age has been
determined at the Çanakkale central district surface survey conducted in 2016-2018. It has been mentioned
that presence of satellite cities around Troy at the research at Troy. However, detailed information about the
location, number, dimensions of these settlements are not available. This project has been developed upon the
problem of whether there are settlements in the region that include contemporary layers with Troy. Prehistoric
and Protohistoric Period studies concentrated in previously known settlements in the vicinity of Troy and more
on the coastal plain. Since no work has been done covering from Neolithic Period to the end of the Iron Age all
the central district borders of Çanakkale, the aim of this study detection of settlement patterns especially in
this area and their connections with some settlements known like Troy. Spatial analysis of the data obtained
from the archaeological survey of the central district of Çanakkale province was made using geographic information systems (GIS).
In this study, Madenkaya/ Kaletaş Tepe sample was evaluated. The UAV images obtained
during the surface survey were processed in Agisoft PhotoScan Professional software to obtain orthomosaic
images, 3D point clouds, 3D surface model, digital elevation model (DEM) data, and contours. DEM data and
contours were used for the spatial analysis slope map, aspect map, and visibility analysis by ArcGIS. Thus,
the physical detail of the archeological settlements, their geographical location and topographic structure, and
structural characteristics of settlement areas were well-determined using GIS-based spatial analysis methods in
the central district boundaries of Çanakkale province.
Key Words: Geographic Information System (GIS), Settlement Pattern, Spatial Analysis, Surface Survey,
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

J.-H. Hartung, Reisen für die Antike. Richard Chandler in Sigeion, in: G. Kalaitzoglou - G. Lüdorf (Hrsg.), Petasos. Festschrift für Hans Lohmann, Mittelmeerstudien 2 (Paderborn 2013) 35-43.

Hartung, J.-H., 2013. Reisen für die Antike. Richard Chandler in Sigeion, in G. Kalaitzoglou & G. Lüdorf, eds., Petasos. Festschrift für Hans Lohmann. Mittelmeerstudien 2. Paderborn: Fink / Schöningh, pp. 35–43.

This work examines the patterns of animal exploitation to reveal information on the subsistence base of the Chalcolithic settlers of Gülpınar in Northwestern Anatolia. The prehistoric site of Gülpınar, located beneath the remains of the Greek and Roman sanctuary of Apollo Smintheus (Smintheion) in northwestern Anatolia, has lately contributed much to our understanding of the Chalcolithic period particularly in western Anatolian littoral. Zooarchaeological evidence from phase II representing the early Chalcolithic 2 period and the succeeding phase III belonging to the Middle Chalcolithic period demonstrates that stock raising, hunting, fishing, and marine molluscs gathering formed an important part of the diet at both phases of occupation at Gülpınar. This zooarchaeological study overall provides a vivid picture of the Chalcolithic communities' animal exploitation patterns in northwestern Anatolia during a millennium-long period between 5300 BC and 4300 BC.

This paper aims to introduce a new sarcophagus inscription which was used as a spolia of the garden wall of a house in the town of Ezine in Çanakkale Province. Providing information about the tomb architecture of Alexandreia Troas in the Roman Imperial period, the inscription constitutes the first clear epigraphic evidence in the city about the practice of erecting a sarcophagus on the top surface of a kamara. Archaeological example of these monumental tombs has not documented in the city. However, analogous practice is well known from the necropolis of Phrygian Hierapolis. The inscription also shows that the sarcophagus was placed on a 'stepped pedestal' called ekbasmosis, a rare term recorded in inscriptions. With this inscription, the term tymborychia which is common in the funerary inscriptions with fineclause, especially in Caria and Pisidia, firstly appears in Alexandreia Troas.

The subject of this study is to constitute the results of the archaeological field survey work carried out in the Central District at the Çanakkale area in 2016 and 2018. It has been determined that, especially with the settlements newly discovered in the surface survey, previously known Bronze and Iron Age settlements are mostly located around streams; at three different locations, namely the cost, lowlands around the coast, and inland hill-top. It is known that the geomorphological development of the district had negative effects on the locations of settlements. It has been determined within the scope of the surface survey that, with the coastal line changes of the Hellespont, a major part of settlements such as Işıldak Tepe, Yarım Höyük and Saltık was destroyed; and settlements such as Arisbe, and Dardanos remained at inland locations as a result of streams filling the coast. Most of our knowledge about the Neolithic period of the region comes from Kumtepe, Alacalıgöl, Gülpınar, Coşkuntepe, as well as Uğurlu on the island of Gökçeada (Imbros), and Karaağaçtepe (Protesilas) on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The recently discovered mounds Dalyan Höyük and Yarım Höyük imply that on the coast of the Hellespont in the Northern Troad also bears traces of Neolithic habitation. However, it is detected that the coastal line changes of the Hellespont mainly affected the settlements near the coastal areas dated between Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. The discovery of large flint blocks and bedrock identified at the Gölyeri site reveals that the region is rich in raw materials. This project has been developed upon the problem of whether there are settlements in the region that include contemporary layers with Troy. The evidence in relation to this subject has been provided with the discovery of previously unknown settlements providing contemporary materials with the Early Bronze, Middle Bronze andIron Ages layers of Troy. Such settlements may include the discovery of pottery in the Köserelik contemporary with Troy I; the discovery of handmade Early Iron Age pottery on the coast, in Dalyan Höyük and Saltık, and in inland Zeytintarla, as well as Dalyan Höyük and Yarım Höyük, where we found Archaic Period pottery. Another important result is the discovery of new fortified settlements in the Archaic Period. The plan of the fortification walls were drafted with the coordinates obtained through Cors, and aerial photographs and videos were taken with a drone. Accordingly, it has been understood that the fortifications had some common traits such as having bastions in weak areas and built with drywall technique with roughly worked stones or rubble stones that follow the topography. The discovery of stone Tumuli, in the region during 2016 and 2017 seasons is an innovation regarding Troad Region burial customs though its closest parallels were found in Thrace and the Balkans dated to Bronze and Iron Ages. The results obtained in the surface survey contributes to the Bronze and Iron Ages settlement archaeology in the Troad in terms of the addition of newly found settlements contemporary with Troy.

The plain of Adrasteia is located in the northeas of the Troad. Archaeological surveys have located several settlements there that go back to early Bronze Age. Ancient sources record that Phrygians settlet in the region at the beginning of Iron age. A phrygian inscription unearthed in what is mostl likely the town of Adrasteia corroborate the ancient sources.

La Troade et le Détroit des Dardanelles (antique Hellespont) constituent un espace frontalier d’une importance stratégique majeure dans l’Antiquité. Son identité mythique complexe, marquée par la guerre de Troie, est utilisée par la cité grecque d’Ilion pour tenter de se rattacher tour à tour aux puissances hégémoniques du moment : Lydiens, Perses, Athéniens, Spartiates, Macédoniens, Attalides, Séleucides et Romains. Lieu de passage et d’affrontement entre armées venues d’Asie ou d’Europe, de Xerxès aux Romains en passant par Alexandre le Grand, la Troade et le Détroit des Dardanelles offrent un laboratoire d’observation privilégié pour l’étude du phénomène frontalier entre deux continents. Face à cette situation, les cités grecques de la région se regroupent autour du sanctuaire fédéral d’Athéna Ilias, situé sur le territoire d’Ilion, pour créer une association religieuse (koinon) dont les membres, exclusivement asiatiques, sont principalement localisés en Troade, mais également au-delà, le long de la Propontide et jusqu’au Détroit du Bosphore, construisant ainsi un autre espace frontalier, d’un détroit à l’autre, entre Méditerranée et mer Noire. Comme en complément de la dimension asiatique du sanctuaire d’Athéna Ilias, l’autre grand sanctuaire d’Ilion, moins bien connu, que les archéologues ont baptisé « Sanctuaire Ouest », pourrait être consacré aux Grands Dieux de Samothrace, si l’on accepte de lui rattacher diverses inscriptions mentionnant ce culte à Ilion. Cette dernière hypothèse permettrait d’envisager que ce sanctuaire serve de lien, pour la cité, avec une aire géographique différente, centrée sur l’île de Samothrace, et donc davantage tournée vers l’Europe et le Nord de l’Égée, tout en conservant l’ancrage anatolien de la communauté politique ilienne, via le culte des Cabires et de Cybèle.

Mots-clés : espace frontalier / région transfrontalière / Antiquité grecque et romaine / Troade / Ilion / Hellespont / Dardanelles / koinon d’Athéna Ilias / Grands Dieux de Samothrace / Homère / Iliade / géographie historique / géographie religieuse / sanctuaire civique / fédéralisme antique / mythes de parenté

Ce sanctuaire est mentionné dans le livre XIII de Strabon, qui fournit des indications topographiques précises. Des ruines présentes près du village turc de Bekten (Yenice)  confirment la localisation, ainsi que la découverte d'une inscription monumentale en grec, d'époque impériale, et d'excellente qualité, qui mentionne le proconsul Rufinus.

Beyoba Tumulus, located on a high hill at a distance of 6 km from Parion close to Beyoba Village, is one of the numerous burial mounds from the Troad Region. The mound, which today dwarfs its once monumental size, inholds a long dromos and a big vaulted burial chamber built of fine ashlar masonry.
Beyoba Tumulus nowadays, unfortunately, stands as a looted cultural heritage due to numerous illicit excavations that were done in and around the mound for many years.  Scientific investigations were also conducted on this burial mound, only by the Çanakkale Museum on a superficial basis, last of them being in 2009. This “unfortunate” past of this important funerary monument was transformed into a new and better state by a recent full scaled rescue excavation done under the auspices of the Çanakkale Museum. Realized in 2018 by a field team from the Parion Excavations, this last investigation of the tumulus changed the state of this funerary monument from being an object of illicit digging into a piece of cultural heritage under protection.
This paper will be the first study in which the preliminary results of the 2018 rescue excavation on the Beyoba Tumulus will be presented on a scientific basis. By doing so, it is hoped that this long-neglected burial mound will again earn its deserved place within the archaeology of the Troad Region.