Ceramic and porcelain finds from the Late Ottoman Cemetery of the Balatlar excavation

Balatlar Church is located in the city center of Sinop. Archaeological excavation in this area started in 2010 under the direction of Prof. Dr. Gulgun KOROGLU. The studies on the building complex here provide information about the history of this archaeological site, and as a result of the studies, it has been understood that its history goes back to the Hellenistic period (4th century BC). A bath was built in the Roman period (2-3 centuries AD) on the ground dated to the Hellenistic period identified here, and some parts of the bath were converted into a church during the Byzantine period (first phase: early 4th century AD, second phase: half of the 6th century-7th century), third phase, 9th-13th century). The last period of the Balatlar building community covers the Ottoman and Early Republican periods (17th century-20th century), and the building has turned into a place of worship and a cemetery used by the few Christian Greek communities who were able to stay in the city. Within the scope of this study, 13-20.In this study, ceramic and porcelain artifact between the 19th and 20th centuries wvere evaluated. The typological classification of the works evaluated within the scope of the thesis was made, they were associated with the find area and similar examples were determined. The fact that most of the Late period ceramics found in the Late Ottoman period Greek-Orthodox cemetery area were found as insutu indicates that these ceramics wvere left in the graves during burial.In this context, research has been done on the burial traditions of the Greek-Orthodoxes, considering the reason why these vessels may have been left in the grave, and various results have been reached.In addition, the density of imported porcelains provided data on the commercial activities in Sinop, which is a port city.