Hellenistic Period ceramics from Altınpark archaeological area

Altınpark Archaeological Area excavated by Smyrna Excavations in 2008/2010/2011 and 2012 is in Basmane District. Area is the necropolis area outside the city walls in antiquity. Under the assumption that the civil architecture in Smyrna outside the city walls starting in the 1st century AD, presence of Hellenistic Period pottery has been evaluated within the bounds of different possibilities. Earliest architectural remains in the area belong to Roman Period houses and no earlier, Hellenistic, architecture can be found. In studying the Hellenistic Period pottery this led to parallel examples dating from other find spots being the criterion in dating these finds and being dated to wide ranges. The area, seeing uninterrupted settlement during Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and Republic Periods led to the cultural layers being destroyed starting in antiquity. Ceramic finds from the excavation belong to different periods of Byzantine, Ottoman, Hellenistic but mostly Roman Period. The aim of this study is to evaluate typologically and chronologically the Hellenistic Period ceramic finds found on different layers and grids and to have an idea about the evolution of the Hellenistic Period ceramics repertoire in Smyrna. Statistics on the Hellenistic Period ceramics, represented in many numbers but mostly amorphous, when the ceramics with evident form are considered there are few examples dated to 4th and 3rd centuries BC. While 3rd and 2nd century examples are more in number, the most represented examples belong to 2nd and 1st century BC. Of the finds in Altınpark there are no imported ceramics, all the finds are local productions. Rather than belonging to Attica tradition, Altınpark Hellenistic Period finds represent more the ever-growing local production. Thymiaterion, unguentarium and few oil lamp finds support the idea that this area is at least on the border of the necropolis. While the presence of many number of Late Hellenistic Period pottery finds make us thin that this area might contain civil architecture during this phase. Creating optimal conditions and resuming the excavations in the area where the previous excavations were stopped because of the depth of digs and the area being small will lead to clarifying the possibilities and solving the problems. Key words: Smyrna, Altınpark, Hellenistic, Ceramic