Bone Objects Found in Amorium City Excavations
Zeynep Aktop ÇetinbayırThe subject of the study is the bone objects unearthed in the excavations of the ancient city of Amorium. Amorium City is located 12 km east of Emirdağ district of Afyonkarahisar province. Bone artifacts were unearthed from different excavation sites, archaeological excavations carried out in the Amorium Ancient City since 1987. These areas include the Enclosure, Basilica A, Large Building East, Inner Wall, Basilica B, and the Rock Tomb. Within the scope of the study, it was aimed to examine and date the identified bone artifacts. There are fifty-six objects in total in the cataloG. These pieces were divided into groups according to their functions and examined under the headings of “Accessories”, “Tools”, “Tool Handles”, “Spindle Whorl”, “Appliques and Furniture Equipment”, “Gaming Pieces”, “Production Related Components“ and “Others”. The clearest dating in the excavations in the Amorium City is obtained from the traces of the siege carried out by the Mu’tasim army in 838. In the catalog prepared, there are bone artifacts from the Enclosure and the Destruction Layer in the Large Building East. In this context, these finds could be dated directly to the 9th century and in this context, the works have been dated to different ages such as Roman, Early Byzantine, Middle Byzantine, Beyliks Period and Early Ottoman Periods.
Amorium Kenti Kazılarında Ele Geçen Kemik Objeler
Zeynep Aktop ÇetinbayırÇalışmanın konusunu Afyonkarahisar’a bağlı Emirdağ’ın 12 km doğusunda bulunan Amorium Antik Kenti kazılarında ele geçen kemik objeler oluşturmaktadır. Amorium Antik Kenti’nde 1987 yılından itibaren gerçekleştirilen arkeolojik kazılar sonucunda farklı kazı alanlarından kemik eserler ele geçmiştir. Bu alanlar arasında Büyük Mekân, Bazilika A, Büyük Bina Doğu, İç Sur, Bazilika B ve Kaya Mezarı yer almaktadır. Çalışma kapsamında tespit edilen kemik eserlerin incelenerek tarihlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Katalogda toplam elli altı adet eser bulunmaktadır. Bu eserler işlevlerine göre gruplara ayrılarak “Aksesuarlar”, “Aletler”, “Alet Sapları”, “Ağırşaklar”, “Aplikler ve Mobilya Aksamları”, “Oyun Taşları”, “Üretimle İlişkili Parçalar” ve “Diğer” başlıkları altında incelenmiştir. Kentte yapılan kazı çalışmalarındaki en net tarihlendirilme 838 yılında Mu’tasım ordusu tarafından gerçekleştirilen kuşatmanın izlerinden elde edilmektedir. Hazırlanan katalogda Büyük Mekân ve Büyük Bina Doğu’daki Yıkım Tabakası’ndan gelen kemik eserler bulunmaktadır. Bu kapsamda söz konusu buluntular doğrudan tarih verilerek 9. yüzyıla tarihlendirilebilmiştir. Farklı tabakalardan ele geçmiş olan diğer eserlerin form özellikleri incelenerek mekân, konteks ve buluntu birlikleri göz önüne alınmış ve eserler Roma, Erken Bizans, Orta Bizans, Beylikler ve Erken Osmanlı Dönemi olmak üzere farklı çağlara tarihlendirilmiştir.
In this article, the bone artifacts unearthed during the excavations of the Amorium City are discussed. Some bone artifacts found during the excavations in the city between 1988-2005 were published. Unpublished objects are analyzed in this article and grouped according to their functions. Of the fifty-six artifacts evaluated in the article, fourty-nine were made of animal bones, three were made of teeth, and four were made of horns. The artifacts in the catalog were recovered from excavations in the Rock Tomb, the Enclosure, Large Building East and Church A in the Lower City, and Basilica B and the Inner Wall in the Upper City. Considering the bone finds, the fact that most of them do not have a feature that can be associated with their dating since their functions have not changed over the centuries, enabled the finds to be dated by looking at their stratigraphic context and examples with similar characteristics. The findings discussed in the article were analyzed in eight groups.
In the accessories group, three hairpins, one bead, three rings, one fastener and a binding pin were found. All three of the hairpins in the catalog are without figures. two of the rings found are complete and one of them is broken. Other bone accessories thought to be used in clothing and jewellery include a bead and two fasteners. Various datings have been seen for these binders, which are thought to have been used to fasten fabrics together. Some finds unearthed during the excavations are discussed under the heading of tools, as they are tools used in various functions. Among the nine finds in the catalog, there are five tools thought to be used as scrapers, cutting tools and piercers, a spoon, an awl and a sewing needle. Three of the finds were made from animal teeth. Bone spoons in a similar form to the spoon in the catalog are generally thought to be used for crushing or mixing paint in medicine or cosmetics. Among the bone artifacts found in the excavations, fifteen pieces were evaluated as tool handles. The parts in question are mostly formed by shaping the bone and horn by holding a metal Tpye Three of the pieces are made of horn. Two tool handles, which differ from the others in form, are similar to each other, with an octagonal body and a hole in the middle. There are intertwined circular decorations made with incising on all sides of the other decorated tool handles. Among the tool handles, three undercorated bone artifacts that are only smoothed on the outside.
There are five complete spindle whorls unearthed during the excavations. All of these fragments were recovered from the trenches in the Upper City. The other group in the catalog is appliques and furniture parts. Three pieces of appliqué were found in Amorium. There are decorations on the upper surfaces of the generally flat appliques. During the excavations, four pieces of furniture were found. All four of them are in different forms. The most striking among them is the piece in the form of a Corinthian capital. The other group among the bone finds are game pieces. Among these pieces, there is also a dice and a love stone. 5 parts that are not completed or considered as production waste were evaluated under the title of parts related to production. Apart from these sherds, a lid, a tube and a schematic decorated bone fragment were found.
Most of the artifacts belonging to different functions were obtained from different trenches in the excavation areas. In this case, the finds were dated by examining the location-finding point-context relationship. The only bone found from the Rock Tombs is the hairpin. This piece has been dated to the Early Roman Period according to the dating of burial. The sewing needle found in the Enclosure 1st-5th century range; According to the context of the knife handle, cochler and furniture parts, it is dated to the Early Byzantine Period, and the fabric fasteners from the Destruction Layer are dated to the 9th century. The hairpin, plaque fragment, ring and knife handle recovered from Church A are dated to the Middle Byzantine period and the tool handle to the 9th century.
In the east trench of the Large Building, tool handles, tooltips, box handles, furniture parts and a medical instrument were dated to the 9th century based on the Destruction Layer. In the area following the aforementioned layer, tooltips and handles and bone artifacts from the Large Building East are generally dated to the Middle Byzantine period. Other areas where bone finds are found from are Basilica B and the Inner Wall area, located on the mound of Amorium. The ring, fastener, knucklebtone and piercer tip recovered from Basilica B date back to the Byzantine Period; the pin, game piece, tool handle, applique piece and one undefined object context to the Early Byzantine Period; The spindle whorl has been dated to the Middle Byzantine Period. A spindle whorl recovered from the Inner Wall dates to the Middle Byzantine Period; ring, piercer/scraper tool to the Beyliks Period; awl, tool handle to the Beyliks-Early Ottoman Period; The two spindle whorls were dated to the Early Ottoman Period according to their formal and contextual characteristics.
Most of the bone objects found in the Amorium City excavations are pieces that have preserved their functions for centuries. In this context, the pieces were dated by taking into account their contextual features. In the light of the data obtained, it has been seen that the bone objects belong to a wide range from the Roman Period to the Early Ottoman Period. This historical range, which is a result of the city’s settlement for centuries, has paralleled the sustainability of the functions of the bone finds.
