Gravestones in Ayancık and its surroundings

Gravestones are the proofs that the nations ruled over the lands where they settled. Turks who immigrated to Anatolia erected tombstones for their tombs by giving meaning to the artistic and literary riches of the regions until the 20th century. After the second half of the 20th century, they turned it into an identity stating only the dates of birth and death. In this research, 152 tombstones belonging to the Ottoman Period found in and around Sinop Ayancık District were the subject. The research area is mainly Ayancık town center, and the villages of Tarakçı, Bahçeli, Dedeağaç, Ünlüce, Ortalık, Liftayak, Bakırlızaviye, Gürsökü, Kütük, Çaylıoğlu. The main purpose of our study is to contribute to revealing the artistic aspect and cultural depth of the region by examining the tombstones, which are a kind of title deed, and also to contribute to the determination of the cultural ties with the near and far environment. For this purpose, the mentioned tombstones were evaluated in terms of date, type, inscription, type of writing, title, material and motifs used in decorations. According to this, the stones belong to the last period of the Ottoman Empire and are from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. It was observed that the stones, 110 of which were in the form of headstones and 52 of them in the form of foot-end, were located on 53 male, 37 female and 4 unidentified graves. It has been observed that the male tombstones have caps such as fez, turban, kavuk and dardagan. The heads of the women's tombstones are composed of vegetative hills, radiant sun, hotoz and circular elements. The pediments of male and female tombstones have pointed, triangular and round arched forms. We come across marble and stone as materials, carving and relief techniques as processing techniques. Ottoman period tombstones in and around Ayancık are among the cultural riches of the region. Therefore, they must be protected against all kinds of natural and artificial hazards. With a detailed research, the tombstones in all the villages of Ayancık should be researched and unearthed and brought to art history. It is our hope that this study will be a source and stepping stone for future tombstone studies.