Beçin Kalesi Kazısında Ortaya Çıkarılan (2014-2021) Tek Renk Sırlı Seramik Kapların Form Özellikleri
Beçin, Ege bölgesinde Muğla ili, Milas ilçesine bağlı bir yerleşim merkezidir. Geçmişi M.Ö. 2000 yıllarına dayanan Beçin, antik dönemde Karia’lılara; Osmanlı döneminde ise başta Menteşe Beyliği olmak üzere pek çok kültüre ev sahipliği yapmış önemli bir Anadolu kentidir. Beçin Kalesi Kazısında 2014-2021 yılları arasında ele geçen kırmızı hamurlu, tek renk sırlı seramikler ve kapların form özellikleri bu makalenin ana konusudur. Uygulamasının kolay olması ve işlevsel yönünün ağır basması nedeniyle Bizans, Beylikler ve erken Osmanlı sanatında görülen en yaygın tekniklerinden biri olan tek renk sır tekniği, Beçin Kale Kazısında ortaya çıkarılan seramiklerde de sıklıkla karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Bu teknikte yapılmış kâse, tabak, testi ve kandil gibi kaplar kazılarda tüm ya da ağırlıklı olarak kırık parçalar şeklinde ele geçirilmektedir. Tek renk sır uygulanan kaplarda çoğunlukla yeşil sır görülmekle birlikte sarı ve kobalt mavi renkler de tercih edilen diğer renkler arasındadır. Günlük hayatta işlevsel olarak kullanılan bu kapların iç yüzeyleri tamamen, dış kenarları ise kabın ağız kısmından bir parmak kalınlıkta dışa taşacak kadar sırlanmıştır. Tek renk sırlı seramik kaplar çeşitli form gruplarına ayrılmaktadır. Kaynaklarda özellikle kâse ya da çanak adı ile bilinen derin kullanım kapları küresel, yarı küresel, konik gövdeli ya da yarı konik gövdeli gibi sınıflandırmalara ayrılmıştır. Çalışmanın birincil amacı, Anadolu’nun doğu ve batısındaki seramik üretim merkezlerinde ortaya çıkarılan Ortaçağ seramik buluntuları ile Beçin Kalesi seramiklerinin form özellikleri karşılaştırılarak ortak bir tipoloji oluşturulmaya çalışmak ve Ortaçağ Anadolu’sunda Beçin seramiklerinin önemini ortaya koymaktır.
The Types of Monochrome Glazed Ceramics in the Beçin Castle Excavation (2014-2021)
Beçin is a residential center in the Milas District of the Turkish Province of Mugla in the Aegean Region. Becin has a history dating back to 2000 B.C. and is an important Anatolian city that has hosted many cultures such as the Carians in ancient times and the Mentese Principality in the Ottoman period. The main subject of this study involves the Turkish red monochrome-glazed clay ceramics and their types found in Beçin Castle excavations between 2014 and 2021. The technique of monochrome glazing is one of the most common decorating techniques applied in Byzantine, Principalities, and early Ottoman art. It was frequently encountered on the ceramics unearthed in the Beçin Excavation because of its ease of application and functionality. Ceramics such as bowls, plates, jugs, and oil lamps made using this technique were recovered mostly in pieces and sometimes whole in the excavations. Although green glaze is mostly seen in monochrome glaze ceramics, yellow and blue glazing were also frequently preferred. The inner surfaces of these ceramics are completely glazed, while the outside is only partially glazed. Monochrome glazed ceramics are grouped under their various forms. In the academic sources, especially bowls are classified as spherical, hemispherical, conical body or semi-conical body. The first aim of the study is to try to create a common typology by comparing the form features of the Medieval ceramics in the ceramic production centers in the east and west of Anatolia with the Beçin Castle ceramics. In addition, revealing the importance of Beçin ceramics in medieval Anatolia is among other purposes.
Located 2 km south of the city of Milas on a flat rock, Beçin Castle’s history dates back to prehistoric times. Turkish rule over Beçin started in the 13th century when the Turkish Beys who’d been overwhelmed by the Mongol invasion in Anatolia took over the region. One of these beys, Menteşe Bey founded a beylik [territory under the leadership of a bey, similar to a lord] based in Beçin that he named after himself and carried out many developmental activities from the middle of the 13th century to the beginning of the 15th century.
Archaeological excavations have been ongoing in Beçin Castle since the 1970s. Many glazed and unglazed pottery have been brought into art history studies, especially as a result of the excavations carried out in the Inner Castle, Seymenlik Gate, Yelli Mosque, and its surroundings. Previous academic publications are found on Beçin Castle ceramics. The current article examines 24 monochrome glazed ceramics unearthed in Beçin Castle excavations between 2014-2021, of which 13 are ring-bottomed bowls, three are flat-bottomed pots, six are deep plates, one is a jug, and one is a type of vessel in the form of an oil lamp.
A common style of monochrome glazed ceramics can be noted that were unearthed in the Beçin Excavation. All of the ceramics were made from red paste. The ceramic cements are moderately tempered, hard, and slightly porous, with mica, lime, quartz, and other small stones. Although the dominant color of the glaze is green, colors such as yellow, ochre, brown, and rarely dark cobalt blue are also visible. In the ceramics examined in this study, the glazes were completely applied inside the bowls, also extending past the lip to the outer sections. Meanwhile, the glazes on the pottery were applied in such a way that resulted not in a shiny, but a matte sheen that creates cracks. Although few in number, bright and smooth examples are additionally present in the study. Primer is generally not used on the outside, but it is applied on all interiors. Cream and cream tones were generally preferred for the primer.
The ceramic bowls unearthed in Beçin excavations are generally medium sized. The bottom diameters vary between 6-9 cm. The diameters of the mouths of the bowls vary between 18-22 cm on average, with heights ranging between 8-11 cm. The bottom diameters of the flat-bottomed bowls vary between 7-9 cm. The diameters of the mouths of the plates, which fully form with the base, generally vary between 21-25 cm, while their bottom diameters vary between 5-8 cm and their height between 4-7.5 cm. The diameter of one plate with no base has a mouth diameter (26 cm.) similar to the other examples. Apart from these ceramics, which are frequently encountered in daily use, an oil lamp and jug were also among the finds.
Certain difficulties were encountered with regard to the typology study of the bowls made for daily use, in which liquid and solid foods were placed. The lack of a common language in scientific studies with regard to the types of vessels is one of this subject’s main problems. Terms such as spherical body, hemispherical body, conical body, and semi-conical body were frequently repeated with regard to medieval ceramics. However, ceramics have been classified under different titles despite having the same form. The form typologies of the monochromatic glazed ceramics unearthed in Beçin excavations were determined by comparing them with samples from other Turkish-Period excavations on Anatolian lands.
Classifying the bodies of the bowls in the ceramics from the Beçin Castle excavation as hemispherical was deemed appropriate because these vessels are slightly curved from the body to the mouth, with the mouth opening conically. The section of rounded wall between the body and the mouth constricts as it ascends, transforming the vessel into a conical shape. In other words, the vessels are neither fully spherical nor fully conical. A detailed classification study has been carried out over the examples by dividing the mouths into the following sub-headings: inverted or outwardly curved body forms. These are then sub-divided into hemispherical body forms.
The monochrome glaze ceramics unearthed in Beçin excavations match other ceramics that can be seen from Eastern to Western Anatolia in terms of shape, material, and technique. When considering the Beçin region, the probability of ceramics coming from nearby centers is seen to be higher, as Beçin ceramics are accepted as having coming from nearby centers such as Balat, where evidence of production is already present. The influences from the Anatolian Seljuk, Anatolian Beylik, Byzantine, and Early Ottoman periods can be seen in the medieval ceramics to have been a multi-layered and intricate period. This makes dating the ceramics as difficult as determining the place where they were produced. Great difficult is had in determining which civilization an object belongs to during this period due to the lands constantly being invaded by different communities, people migrating, the difficult economic conditions, and the changing political borders. One should additionally not forget the traveling masters whose existence in this period is also known.
