Prehistoric pottery assamblages from Southern Necropolis of Paphlagonia Hadrianopolis

Although Hadrianopolis was founded in the Roman period and is a settlement known for its findings from the Late Antique Age, archaeological excavations in the ancient city have begun to uncover prehistoric findings, albeit limited in number. A group of handmade, red-paste and red-lined pottery found in a pit in the city's Necropolis area exhibits features similar to prehistoric traditions. In addition to the pottery, which also contains characteristic pieces in terms of form, weaving weights known to have been used in textile production from prehistoric periods, contrary to the city's material tradition, were also unearthed. When the handmade pottery and stone spindle whorls are considered together, it is understood that there was a prehistoric settlement established on the bedrock in the ancient city of Hadrianopolis. The long-term use of the necropolis in the Late Antique Age and the constant excavation of the bedrock to open grave pits must have largely eliminated this prehistoric settlement. The traces of the first settlement in the prehistoric settlement of Hadrianopolis, which must be understood from the rare findings that have survived to the present day, go back to the Chalcolithic Age. Despite the small number of findings, it should not be forgotten that ongoing research in Hadrianopolis may increase the limited number of material culture findings. When the unearthed prehistoric handmade, black and red slipped and heavily burnished pottery is compared with the excavated settlements in the Western Black Sea region, especially the stratigraphy of which is known, it is understood that the black slipped pieces date to the Late Chalcolithic period, and the red slipped ones to the Early Bronze Age, representing the Filyos Culture defined by Dr. Turan Efe. In this study, since the pottery, which was catalogued in detail with its characteristics such as shape, temper and surface treatments, is not in situ and therefore its stratigraphy cannot be known, it was attempted to be dated by making comparisons with surrounding settlements. Long before the foundation of the ancient city of Hadrianopolis, a small village must have been established in the area defined as the Southern Necropolis of the ancient city, probably during the settlement process that started in the Late Chalcolithic period while prehistoric periods were still being experienced in Anatolia. This thesis study will provide important and new information for the Western Black Sea archaeology and will shed light on the prehistoric pottery tradition of Hadrianopolis and the past of the ancient city.