Spätantike Sigillaten aus Adramytteion (Ören/Balıkesir): Eine Überregionale Materialanalyse
Reyhan ŞahinIm Rahmen dieses Artikels wird die während der Grabungskampagnen 2012-2013 gefundene spätantike Sigillata aus Adramytteion (moderne Siedlung Ören/Balıkesir) untersucht. Das vorliegende Material stammt aus unterschiedlichen Bereichen der Stadt und setzt sich zusammen aus Formen der African Red Slip (ARS), Late Roman C (LRC) und Late Roman Light Coloured Ware (LRLCW), die anhand ihrer typologischen Merkmalen in das 3. bis 7. Jh. n. Chr. gewiesen werden können. Vereinzelte Funde aus dem 3. Jh. deuten darauf hin, dass ARS ab diesem Zeitpunkt in Adramytteion importiert wurde. Das Fundmaterial wird deutlich von der LRC dominiert, gefolgt von ARS und LRLCW. Die quantative Verteilung der unterschiedlichen Gattungen spiegelt weitgehend die Situation wieder, die auch in anderen Städten Nordwestanatoliens begegnet. Durch makroskopische Beobachtungen können innerhalb der LRC und ARS unterschiedliche Fabrikate festgestellt werden, wobei auf jede Gruppe jeweils eine geringe Anzahl an Fragmenten entfällt. Ob in Adramytteion eine lokale Feinkeramik-Produktion in spätantiker Zeit existierte, muss zwar beim jetzigen Kenntnisstand weitgehend unbeantwortet bleiben; eine lokale Produktion von Feinkeramik wie in einigen pisidischen, pamphylischen und phrygischen Städten scheint für Adramytteion jedoch eher unwahrscheinlich zu sein.
Adramytteion’un (Ören/Balıkesir) Geç Antik Çağ Kırmızı Astarlı Keramikleri: Tespitler ve Bölgeler Arası Bir Değerlendirme
Reyhan ŞahinBu çalışmada Adramytteion (Ören/Balıkesir) kazılarında ele geçen Geç Roma Dönemi ve Erken Bizans Dönemi arasına tarihlenen kırmızı astarlı seramikler incelenmiştir. Söz konusu buluntular Adramytteion’da 2012 ve 2013 yıllarında kenti farklı bölümlerinde yapılan sondaj ve kazılarda ele geçmiştir. Mevcut Buluntular kentin farklı kesimlerinden ele geçmiş olup kentte Geç Antik Çağda yerleşim olduğuna işaret etmektedir. Buluntular ARS (African Red Slip), LRC (Late Roman C), ve literatürde LRLCW (Late Roman Light Coloured Ware) olarak bilen Geç Roma Dönemi açık renk astarlı keramiklerinden oluşmaktadı. Sınırlı sayıda 3. yüzyıla tarihlenen ARS buluntuları dışında incelenen parçalar MS 4.-7. yüzyıl aralığına tarihlenmektedir. İlk incelemelerde her bir kategoride farklı kil ve astar özelliği gösteren örneklerin varolduğu tespit edilmiş olup, bu bulgular geç Antik Çağ sigillatarının tek bir üretim merkezinden ithal edilmediklerini ve/veya bölgede faaliyet gösteren yerel atölyeler olabileceğini düşündürmektedir. Kentte yerel bir ince seramik endüstrisinin olup olmadığı sorusunun cevabı mevcut koşullarda yanıtsız kalmakla birlikte, mevcut bulugular ışığında Pisidia, Pamphylia, Phrygia kentlerinin bazılarında olduğu gibi baskın bir yerel ince seramik endüstrisinin var olabilme olasılığı düşük görünmektedir.
Late Antique Sigillata From Adramytteion (Ören/Balıkesir): A Comparative Material Analysis
The purpose of this paper is to present the range of fine wares used at Adramytteion (modern Ören-Balıkesir) in late antiquity. Specimens were acquired from various parts of the city during excavations in 2012–2013. A particularly large quantity of late antique sigillata was found from a sondage (S9) near Bergaztepe between areas A and B, suggesting late antique occupation of the area. Late antique sigillata finds were also made from Area A in the modern city center and the nearby Area E located to the northeast. In both areas, remains of buildings were unearthed that were apparently used as warehouses in the 12th–13th centuries. A few examples were also obtained from Area D. Architectural remains in this area are associated with a residential complex.
The material presented here documents the changing patterns of fine ware consumption at Adramytteion in late antiquity. The available specimens consist of ARS (African Red Slip), LRC (Late Roman C), and LRLCW (Late Roman Light Colored Ware) plates and bowls dated from the 3rd to early 7th centuries AD based on typological characteristics. The earliest examples of ARS ware can be traced to the 3rd century. However, the small number of finds suggests less demand for ARS during the 3rd century. Archaeological deposits from the various parts of the city indicate that ESC (Eastern Sigillata C) was the predominant fine ware in the 3rd and early 4th centuries. A slight increase can be observed in ARS imports from the mid-4th century onward. As is the case across the Mediterranean area, however, probably because of the Vandal invasions in Africa, quantities of ARS ware decreased steadily in the following period. ARS continued to be imported until the beginning of the 7th century, though only in very limited quantities after the 6th century. Form 108 represents the latest datable specimen in this category. Given the evidence provided in this study, it can be stated that the fine ware market in Adramytteion was clearly dominated by LRC ware, especially from the second half of the 5th century onward. Of the late antique sigillata, 69% consists of LRC. The earliest specimens represented within the LRC spectrum belong to Form 1. Most examples are assigned to Hayes Form 3. The later forms from the 6th and early 7th centuries (forms 5, 8, and 10) are each represented by one or two fragments. The latest datable specimen, belonging to Hayes Form 10, is assigned to the early 7th century AD. Late antique fine ware from Adaramytteion also includes LRLC (Late Roman Light Colored) ware. Finds from Parion and Antandros closely resemble the LRCW finds from Adramytteion.
On the basis of macroscopic analysis, the majority of the available ARS and LRC fragments can be classified as imports (ARS from Africa, LRC presumably mostly from Phokaia). After Constantinople became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, creating increased demand for ceramics, Phocaea emerged as a new center for large-scale pottery production. Phocaea is likely to have been an easily accessible alternative for supplying pottery to the inhabitants of northwest Anatolia and thus also to Adramytteion. Some specimens found in Adramytteion, although having forms identical to ARS and LRC, differ from the imports due to their fabric (Nos. 9, 27; Nos. 20, 24; No. 13) or due to an unconventional stamped ornament on the wall surface (No. 16). These constitute approximatey 9% of all ARS and LRC specimens. The preliminary analysis suggests hypotheses to be tested by future excavations and archaeometric analysis of ceramic finds.
The second part of this study focuses particularly on the relationship between imported and locally produced late antique fine wares in Adramytteion and along the west coast of Asia Minor. In late antiquity, the geographic location and socio-political relations of a city appear to have been determining factors with regard to local production, import, and imitation. In Adramytteion and across northwest Anatolia, LRC constitutes the predominant category. Local workshops (either in Adramytteion or nearby) probably did exist, but did not produce larger, market-dominating quantities of ceramics, merely supplementing local need. Some research has compared the main late antique productions in inter-regional circulation, such as ARS, LRC, and LRD (Late Roman D), with a common language, koine, reflecting sociocultural ties within the Roman Empire. Based on the material examined in this study, it can be concluded that Adramytteion belonged to a koine based on LRC forms. Moreover, the data from southern Ionian cities such as Ephesos and Priene indicate that LRC predominated, whereas the local pottery such as ERSW (Ephesian Red Slip Ware) and Meander sigillata was apparently intended not for large-scale production but for more limited local consumption. Conversely, in the inland settlements of Pisidia and Caria such as Sagalassos and Aphrodisias, local ceramic traditions that already dominated the repertoire in the early Imperial Era partly continued in late antiquity. Meanwhile, in some cities of southern Anatolia, a local industry emerged that was based on LRD forms. Almost all late antique local fine pottery in Perge consists of specimens from the LRD repertoire. Newly discovered workshops in the Gebiz Basin likewise show that LRD can be understood as a common koine of the region.
