A Group of Figurines From the Territorium of Alinda
Murat Çekilmez, Pınar Taşpınar YamantürkThe terracotta figurines found in the Ilıcasu within the territory of the site of Alinda, which is the subject of the study, constitute the first examples found and published within the borders of the site. In this context, it contains complementary elements in terms of Carian coroplastic. The figurines evaluated within the scope of the study bear traces of the Late Classical and Early Hellenistic Periods. They reflect the figurine types and iconography that have been determined densely from the sacred areas of Demeter and Korea located within the borders of the Caria. Although the figurines TK.1-4, located within the borders of the ancient site of Alinda and found 21 km east of Labraunda Zeus Sanctuary, present a different typology, when examined iconographically, it has been observed that they are related to the cult of Demeter and Persephone, which are encountered densely in the region. When the iconographic features, which are examined in detail within the scope of the study, are evaluated together with the location of the area, the existence of an extra-urban sanctuary for the city of Alinda is presented as a hypothesis. It is aimed to reach new data that supports this view in the studies that will continue in the city. The figurines discussed in the study not only present new data in terms of the distribution of typology, iconographic connections, and technical similarities to Carian coroplastic but also contribute to the literature.
Alinda Territoriumundan Bir Grup Figürin
Murat Çekilmez, Pınar Taşpınar YamantürkBu çalışmada, Aydın İlinin Karpuzlu İlçesine bağlı Hatipkışlası Mahallesi’nde, Ilıcasu mevkiinde 2007 yılında bulunan figürinler ele alınmaktadır. Buluntu alanı antik dönemde Karia Bölgesi’ndeki Alinda antik kentinin territoriumunda kalmaktadır. İlk olarak kentte yapılan araştırmalar ve buluntu alanı üzerinde durulmuştur. Figürinlerin konteksti belirlendikten sonra ele alınan örnekler tipolojik, ikonografik ve teknik açıdan değerlendirilmiştir. Yapılan değerlendirme sonucunda dört ayrı tip saptanmış ve bölge özelindeki gelişimleri belirlenmiştir. Daha sonra figürinlerin ikonografik özellikleri benzer bölge örnekleri yardımıyla saptanmıştır. Yapılan değerlendirme sonucunda figürinlerin Geç Klasik ve Erken Helenistik Dönem özellikleri gösterdiği anlaşılmıştır. Benzer örneklerle yapılan tipolojik ve ikonografik karşılaştırmalar, figürinlerin Karia Bölgesi’nde Demeter ve kızı Persephone ile Zeus’un birlikte olduğu kutsal alanlarda yoğunlaştığını göstermiştir. Çalışmada ele alınan figürinler Karia koroplastiği içerisinde bu bölgede yayınlanan ilk pişmiş toprak figürinler olması açısından literatüre katkı sağlamaktadır. Yapılan değerlendirmelere göre Alinda’nın kent suru dışında bir kutsal alanının olduğu önerisi sunulmuştur.
The figurines evaluated in this study were found in 2007 in Aydın, Karpuzlu, Hatipkışlası, and Ilıcasu within the territory of the ancient site of Alinda, and were brought to the collections of Aydın Archaeological Museum. Four figurines with different typological and iconographic features were examined in the same area. The works in the museum were grouped by considering their usage patterns as well as their forms and technical features. The works discussed within the scope of the study are votive figurines. While four figurines in the museum that we analyzed within the scope of the study were described as votive artefacts. Figurines generally consist of a round head and rectangular body. This group of figurines consists of those made of terracotta in an iconic shape. The small number of Old Carian cultic inscriptions regarding cultic practices of Caria that survived to today through Greek literary texts from a limited source of information. Figurines belonging to the typology of kourotrophos, hydrophoros, dressed women and Hades/Zeus figurines, which were mostly found in the sacred areas of Demeter and Persephone in the Late Classical - Early Hellenistic Period, especially in the Caria, were handled technically, typologically and iconographically. The findings in the vicinity of the city of Alinda are very important in terms of bringing southwest examples of the city’s figurine typology to the literature, specifically for Carian coroplastic studies. The figurines handled in this study constitute the first terracotta figurine samples published in the territory of the site of Alinda and they are introduced to the scientific world. The figurines were found 6 km of the city, and no archaeological work has been carried out in this area yet. When the localization of the artefacts, which are problematic in the context of the finds, together with their iconographic connections, is examined, it is remarkable that it covers the territory of Alinda and is located 21 km east of the Labraunda Zeus Sanctuary. When the typological and iconographic features of the figurines are examined, their cult-related features determined within the sacred areas of Demeter and Persephone indicate that they belong to a context connected with the road known to exist between the city of Alinda and the Labraunda Zeus Sanctuary. Another indication, based on the iconography of the figurines, is the existence of another sanctuary outside the city, apart from the temple located in the acropolis in the ancient city of Alinda. Although the interpretations do not go further than the hypothesis since the data obtained are quite scarce, more concrete evidence can be obtained as a result of the scientific studies to be carried out in the field. The ideational origins of the kourotrophos figurine typology numbered TK.1 date back to the Prehistoric Periods in Anatolia. The figurine, which is thought to represent a goddess as a mother or protector, has different variations as sitting and standing, with a baby on her lap or being breastfed. The typology, which we encounter iconographically different periods and in different geographical regions, has an apotropaic meaning related to women and childbirth. Western Anatolian examples of the hydrophoros figurine numbered TK.2 are also seen in the Hellenistic Period, mostly in the Classical Period. Especially the figurines which carry the hydria standing on the head with their right hands have been detected in the sacred areas of Demeter and Persephone in the Caria since the Classical Period. Thus, the place of this type of figurine in the regional coroplastic, the development of the type and its iconography are emphasized. The fact that they were found in the same context as the Hades/Zeus figurines numbered TK.4 from the sacred areas of the Caria indicates that the mentioned typology is iconographically connected. There are different opinions about who it represents in both examples, but it has been evaluated as images related to the cult of Demeter and Persephone. Since the mentioned findings do not belong to a systematic excavation or a layer, the analogy method was used as the dating criterion within the scope of the study. In this context, the kourotrophos numbered TK.1 and Hades/Zeus figurines numbered TK.4 are thought to date back to 350-325 BC, and also the hydrophoros numbered TK.2 and the female-type figurine of Herculaneum numbered TK.3 are thought to date back to 325-300 BC. The fact that the figurines date back to different periods shows that the area was also used within a certain period of time. In the technical evaluations of the figurines, similarities were found in clay and lining properties, and different forms were observed in the steam hole. Furthermore, owing to the preservation of a single specimen as a whole, the base-body, head and body ratio of the figurine numbered TK.2 was calculated. The base of the hydropohoros figurine numbered TK.2, which is probably a craft of a workshop which made productions between 325-300 BC, was calculated as 1/8 and the body ratio as 1/5. The similarities of these examples to Theangela and Halicarnassos figurines indicate the existence of a workshop or inter-city trade of moulds. We can see that the majority of coroplast who made the figurines in the region were local artists. While Classical artists gave sacred meaning and apotropaic motifs in the sanctuary, they also gave importance to the need to be in harmony with Classical aesthetics. In this sense, we can understand the effectiveness from a viewer’s perspective of adding a sacred meaning and apotropaic effect to some iconic motifs in the Carian sanctuary in the 4th century BC. Thus, it was attempted to obtain data that can help with the stylistic features and dating of these works. It was determined that the figurines, which are the subject of the article, had similarities with some figurines in other museums in terms of form, technical features, and usage purposes. Considering the sense of style and the techniques used, it was concluded that the figurines at Aydın Archaeological Museum could be dated to the 4th century BC.
