“Social and Cultural Life of Eastern Roman Bithynia in the Light of Grave Inscriptions”, Contextualising Pompeiopolis Urban Development in Roman Anatolia from a Comparative Perspective, 9-10 July 2016, Taşköprü-Kastamonu (original) (raw)
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The ancient city of Heraclea (Pontica) having its name from the semi-god hero Heracles is situated today in the Eregli district of Zonguldak province in the western Black Sea region of Turkey. Ancient authors tells that the city was founded by Megarians & Boiotians which are known as Dorian tribes in ca. 560 B.C. In addition to coastal site feature, with its powerful policy which is based on tyranny in IV. century B.C., the site became one of the most important politicial authorities in the region till 70 AD when fell under Roman dominion. In Roman Period Heraclea was a part of the provincia Pontus et Bithynia which Romans constituted and kept its importance administratively and economically till the end of Byzantine period. So as to research the history of the Roman Heraclea, the epigraphical works carried on in Karadeniz Eregli Museum since 2007, that revealed so many new epigraphical materials of the city. New votive and grave inscriptions enrich our understanding of the social and cultural life of Heraclea in Roman imperial period. The dedications of the indvidiuals give an idea about the religious life of Roman Heraclea: Marcus Aurelius Silius Domitius Marcianus offers a dedication to goddess Ma for his saviour which puts forward the presence of this Anatolian goddess not only in Heraclea but also in Bithynia region for the first time. A statuette dedication by Asklepiodoros to Heracles Alexikakos (healer & saviour Herakles) demonstrates the continuity of the cult of Heracles in Roman period in the territory. From a dedication of Aurelius Zeuxius to an unknown deity, we learn his religious position as hieropoios. The grave inscriptions are important as well to understand the social & cultural life: The grave inscription of Aurelius Artemonianos Menios, gives the magistracy titles of him as ephebarkhos and paraphylaks that presents knowledge about the ephebarkheia and education. A grave stone of estate & farm managers (oikonomoi & oikonomissai), presents the traces of Roman period farms in the territory of Heraclea. The names on the inscriptions also give information about the Thracian origin of the people, the respected deities, Roman citizenship and Romanization of the city partly.
2015
Ancient Liburnia, stretching along the Eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, has always been a sea-faring region, and its people - the Liburni - have always been regarded as notorious pirates and sea-people. As such, the region has been visited by foreigners from both the West and the East. Greeks sailed across the Adriatic since the 6th century BCE, but travellers from the Greek mainland visited the region even in the more remote past, judging by finds of the Mycenaean pottery at several Adriatic sites. In this contribution the authors shall look into the foreigners of the Eastern origins who came to Roman Liburnia and died there during the first three centuries CE, and investigate the ways they were buried in this land so far from their homelands. Due to exact written records left at their epitaphs - mostly belonging to soldiers of legions and auxiliary units, but to some seamen and traders, as well - the authors shall analyse distribution of their homelands and investigate whether there were some peculiarities with regard to their burial customs. In addition to these foreigners of unambiguous Eastern origins, the authors shall also take into consideration other persons who might have also been Easterners, either because of the particular religious affiliations (such as, e. g., an archigallus buried in Iader), anthroponymy, use of the Greek language and/or writing, and similar. This analysis shall also look into the specific grave goods that strongly indicate Eastern origins of those buried within these graves, and investigate whether there were some particular burial customs and/or tomb types that would indicate the same. Furthermore, the authors shall also take into consideration the influences which originated form the western territories of Roman state and compare them to the eastern ones.
Acta Classica Mediterranea 4, 2021
Özet Karadeniz Ereğli Müzesi’nde 2007 senesinden bu yana tarafımızca yürütülen epigrafik çalışmalar, Herakleia Pontike (Karadeniz Ereğli) ve Tios/Tieion (Filyos) antik kentlerinin Roma ve Bizans dönemlerine ait çok sayıda yazıtlı buluntunun kayda geçilmesini ve literatüre eklenmesini sağlamıştır. Bu çalışmada ise Zonguldak İli, Devrek (antik Dadybra?) İlçesinin Özbağı (Gerze) Beldesi’nde bulunmuş ve bir Roma veteranus’unun (= emekli asker) dörtgen kumtaşı mezar steli üzerine Eski Hellence yazılmış mezar yazıtı sunulmaktadır. Kısmen tamamlanabilmiş yazıtın çevirisi şöyle olmalıdır: “Pia et fidelis (= vefakar/itaatkar ve sadık) unvanlı … Lejyonu’nda hizmet etmiş olan veteranus … Pontius Galat– ki o ... sene yaşadı (burada yatmaktadır)”. Yazıtta bahsi geçen veteranus, askerlik hizmetini, pia (et) fidelis = εὐσεβὴς (καὶ) πιστή unvanını aldığı bilinen Roma lejyonlarından birinde yapmıştır. Sadakatlerinin karşılığı olarak farklı dönemlerde farklı imparatorlardan bu unvanı almış çok sayıda lejyon ismi bilinmektedir. Veteranus’un Galat– ismi, sadece onun Galatia kökenine değil, aynı zamanda onun hizmet ettiği lejyon konusunda da bir fikir verebilir, zira legio VII Claudia pia fidelis ile legio XI Claudia pia fidelis gibi bazı lejyonlara Galatia Bölgesi’nden çok sayıda asker katılımı olduğu iyi bilinmektedir. Mezar taşının kayda geçtiği Özbağı ve Devrek’in Roma Dönemi’nde Pontus et Bithynia Eyaleti yönetimi altındaki aidiyeti, statüsü ve/veya hangi kentin territorium’una dâhil olduğu kesin olarak bilinememektedir. Bölgeye en yakın iki antik kent olarak kuzeybatısında Herakleia Pontike, kuzeydoğu bölümünde ise Tios kenti uzanmaktadır; ancak, Devrek İlçesi, Geç Roma Dönemi’nden itibaren kaynaklardan ismi bilinen Dadybra isimli antik yerleşimin lokalize edildiği yerlerden birisi olmuştur. Özbağı Beldesi’nin Hüseyinbeyler (Sombeyler) Mahallesi’nde, içerisinde mezar odaları bulunan bir nekropolis alanı I. derece sit alanı olarak tespit edilmiş olup bu mezar taşının da orayla ilişkilendirilmesi mümkündür. Özbağı’nın kentsel aidiyetini tespit edebilmek, sadece taşın nereye ait olduğu sorusunun değil, aynı zamanda Tios ve Herakleia sınırının nereden geçtiği sorusunun cevaplanmasına da yardımcı olacaktır. Abstract As a result of the epigraphic studies carried out since 2007 in the “Karadeniz Ereğli Museum” in Zonguldak, numerous Greek and Latin inscriptions of Herakleia Pontike and Tios/Tieion from the Roman and Byzantine periods have been recorded and added to the literature. In the present paper, a tetragonal sandstone grave stele with ancient Greek inscription of a Roman veteranus (= retired soldier) from the township of Özbağı (Gerze) of the district of Devrek (Dadybra?) in Zonguldak province (Eastern Bithynia) is presented. The translation of the partly completed inscription must be as follows: Having served in the legio … pia et fidelis, veteranus … Pontius Galat- who lived … years…, (lies here).” Our veteranus must have fulfilled his military service in one of the legions that had the official military title pia (et) fidelis = εὐσεβὴς καὶ πιστή. There are many legions awarded with this honorary title at different times by different emperors in return for their loyalty. His name may not only be an indicator of his Galatian origin but can also be a clue for legio he served for as it is well known that there are many recruits from Galatia for some legiones such as legio VII Claudia pia fidelis and legio XI Claudia pia fidelis. The status and/or urban affiliation of Özbağı in Devrek, where the gravestone was found, under provincia Pontus et Bithynia in the Roman period is unknown. The closest ancient cities to the region are Herakleia Pontike to the northwest and Tios/Tieion to the northeast. However, Devrek district has been one of the places where the Dadybra settlement, whose name is seen in the sources of the Late Roman Period, was localized. A nekropolis has been registered as a first degree archaeological site in the Hüseyinbeyler (Sombeyler) District, north of Özbağı, which includes various types of burial chambers and it is possible to correlate this gravestone with that area. Determining the provincial status of the Özbağı will not only help to answer the question of where the stone belongs, but also the question of where the border between Tios and Herakleia passes.
Epigraphic Research in Eastern Bithynia The territory of Eastern Bithynia has long attracted the attention of travelling antiquarians due to its rich archaeological and epigraphical potential. Archaeologists and epigraphers such as E. Kalinka, G.Mendel, L. Robert, F. K. Dörner, D. French, S. Şahin, C. Marek...etc conducted epigraphic and historical geographical research here between the mid 19th and early 21st century. In recent years, new epigraphical field surveys have started within the eastern part of Roman Bithynia, including in the districts of Geyve, Taraklı and Pamukova (Sakarya province) and Gölpazarı and Osmaneli (Bilecik province), undertaken by a team headed by Dr Hüseyin Sami Öztürk and, since 2012 in Göynük and Mudurnu (Bolu province), by a team headed by Dr. Filiz Dönmez Öztürk. Concurrently, new epigraphical research has been conducted in the İstanbul, Iznik, Sakarya, Karadeniz Ereğli, Konuralp and Amasra Archaeological Museums by Dr. Hüseyin Sami Öztürk and Dr. Bülent Öztürk. The excavations at Tieion/Tios (Zonguldak/Filyos) on the southern Black Sea coast have also presented new inscriptions that have been compiled into a corpus. Consisting of honorary decrees, milestones, dedications to gods and goddesses, weights and gravestones, these inscriptions add new information to the history of Roman Bithynia.
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik , 2021
Zonguldak’ın Filyos Beldesi’nde bulunan Tios antik kenti sahip olduğu zengin arkeolojik mirasıyla Türkiye’nin Karadeniz kıyılarındaki günümüze kadar en iyi korunabilmiş antik yerleşimi olma özelliğine sahiptir. Bu kentteki arkeolojik kazılar 2007 senesinden beri Karadeniz Ereğli Müzesi adına, sırasıyla Prof. Dr. Sümer Atasoy ve Doç. Dr. Şahin Yıldırım’ın bilimsel danışmanlıklarıyla akropolis, antik liman, tiyatro ve nekropolis alanlarında yürütülmüş ve bölge tarihinin güncellenmesine olanak veren önemli buluşlara sahne olmuştur. Arkeolojik çalışmalara paralel olarak yürütülen epigrafik araştırmalar da kentten günümüze ulaşmış Hellenistik ve Roma dönemlerine ait mezar taşlarını, onurlandırma heykel kaidelerini, adakları, miltaşlarını, ticari ağırlıklarını ve diğer türlerdeki yazıtlı buluntuları gün yüzüne çıkarmıştır. Bu buluntular arasından beyaz mermerden silindir bir onurlandırma heykel kaidesinin üzerindeki yazıtının ise sadece bu kentin değil aynı zamanda Anadolu’nun Roma tarihi açısından önem arz ettiği anlaşılmıştır. Zira antik literatürde sadece ünlü yazar Nikaialı Cassius Dio’nun (MS yak. 150-235) Roma tarihini kaleme aldığı eserinde (Rhomaika, 79.39.5) adı geçen Roma İmparatorluğu’nun Pontus-Bithynia Eyaleti Valisi Caecilius Aristo, bu unvanıyla ilk defa bu yazıtta belgelenmiş oldu. Yazıtın çevirisi şöyledir: Tiosluların pek görkemli/gösterişli kenti, legatus Augusti propraetore (imparatorun praetor mertebesindeki elçisi) Caecilius Aristo’nun yönetim döneminde …. (şu kişi/kişileri onurlandırdı).
archaeological excavations in the Late Roman cemetery of the fortified town of Ibida (Slava Rusă, Tulcea County). Three of the most representative funeral features are analyzed, with the aim of uncovering and defining certain practices pertaining to the understanding and interpretation of aspects of everyday life in this important town of the Scythia Minor province. Firstly, the content of a crypt is analyzed, the resting place of 39 individuals, which was built using a technique common to several monuments in the region, with wall-paintings and grave goods that place the beginning of the complex in the second half of the fourth century AD. Secondly, there are another two graves, tombs M39 and M116, which included an interesting inventory, allowing for some interpretations in regard to the social status of the deceased individuals. The historical and archaeological research was supplemented by the extensive anthropological analyses carried out on the skeletal remains, which provided estimations of age, height and health status of the deceased individuals.
Materiale și Cercetări Arheologice, 2021
Keywords: Histria, funerary archaeology, atypical burial, anthropological analysis Abstract: This study presents an atypical burial from the Late Roman cemetery at Histria. During previous archaeological excavations at the same site and the Scythia Province, no such discoveries were identified. This case consists of a burial in a simple pit with coffin and ordinary inventory, and an atypical re-inhumation which disturbed the first skeleton. The anthropological analysis identified two individuals under 20 years old, who displayed musculo-skeletal markers of physical activity. This feature is less common for this age category.
Mycenaeans up to date. The archaeology of north-eastern Peloponnese - current concepts and new directions, 2015
While excavating Grave Circle B in 1952 and 1953, Ioannis Papadimitriou identified and investigated an Early Mycenaean chamber tomb, which remained unpublished to this day. The tomb’s importance lies both in its finds and its location directly below the acropolis next to Grave Circle B, outside any organized cemetery contemporary with the tomb. The tomb preserved the skeletal remains of a young man, whose grave gifts included pottery, bronze vases, intricate weapons, and numerous pieces of jewellery. This paper examines the relationships of these finds with others known from earlier excavations in the same region, and discusses local weapons manufacturing workshops and their distinctive artistic traits. The second part of the paper examines the relationship between this chamber tomb and the monumental tombs of the citadel’s south slope, and the process of distinguishing the cemeteries’ location from that of inhabitations at the time of the city’s dynamic expansion shortly before the dawn of the Palatial period.