Quarries of Sinope in light of archaeometric results of examples of ancient architectural pieces

The city, which was located in the Paphlagonia Region in ancient times and was called Sinope, continued its existence as an important commercial city thanks to its geopolitical position. Many ancient monumental structures with different functions were built in this city, which is understood to have been inhabited continuously until today thanks to its commercial importance. Scientific excavations and researches carried out throughout the city, spolia materials observed on the city walls and ancient architectural pieces unearthed during modern excavation works indicate that in addition to stone and marble imports, significant quarries may have operated in the city of Sinop and its immediate vicinity during the ancient period. In light of this information, this study aims to identify the stone and marble quarries that the city used in ancient construction activities using archaeometric methods. In this study, samples were taken from both architectural works such as column capital, column and geison-sima block exhibited in the Sinop Archaeological Museum and from the natural rocky area (Çaylıoğlu Village/Sayarkası) within the settlement called Stephane, which was probably used as a stone quarry in ancient times; ED-XRF and PSA analyses of these samples were performed. As a result of the archaeometric analyses, it was determined that the chemical contents of the column and geison-sima block samples exhibited in the museum garden were largely similar to the Sayarkası samples. These results indicate that the quarry in Stephane (Sayarkası quarry) was preferred for the supply of stone materials used in the construction activities carried out in Sinope in ancient times and that there may have been important trade relations between Sinope and Stephane. The only sample that differs chemically among the samples in question is the Corinthian column capital. It is not possible to determine the type and source of this rock, which is understood to have the lowest calcium and highest magnesium content and a lower light transmittance rate compared to the others, precisely because there is no comparison sample. In light of the results obtained from other research conducted on the subject throughout the city, the analyses conducted on the Corinthian column capital may indicate Proconnesus marble. These results provide important clues that Sinope may have imported semi-processed marble material from Prokonnesos, which was of relatively higher quality, for the construction of important and monumental public buildings.