Hellenistic and Roman Period ceramics of the Middle Euphrates Region in the light of Gaziantep and Kilis excavations and surveys

The Middle Euphrates Region has strategic importance due to its nature that keeps Mesopotamia, Northern Syria, Eastern Mediterranean, and Anatolia together at a juncture. When the wares constituting the subject of the thesis are assessed, it is seen that the ware finds discovered in the centers detected through archeological excavation in Yenice (Höyük) Mound and surface survey offer that there is uninterrupted traces of life from the Hellenistic Period to the seventh century A.D. However, the situation in the dates between the first and third century A.D. can be seen as an exception to this continuity. This argument stems from the limited number of findings in the centers constituting the research field of this study. It is thought that gaps in the mentioned date range can be explained to be intimately connected with the chaotic conjuncture of that time. As a consequence of the analysis of wares collected from fifty-eight (58) centers, it is viewed to exist the Black Glazed Wares (B.C. 3rd-2nd century), Dipped Slip Wares (B.C. 3rd -2nd century), MouldmadeBowls (B.C. 2nd-1st century), Buff Slip Wares (B.C. 3rd-2nd century), Cookware and Red Slip Ware which is considered in the centuries between 1st and 2nd B.C. Most of them are trade materials. The reason behind this is that the region interacted with Eastern Mediterranean and Western civilizations under the hegemony of the Seleucia Kingdom in the Hellenistic Period. The ware groups evaluated in The Late Roman comprise Buff Slip Wares (A.D. 4th-7th century), Red Clay Wares (A.D. 4th-7th century), Late Ancient Period Unguentariums (A.D. 6th-7th century), Brittle Wares (A.D. 3rd -8th century), Northern Syria Amphoras (A.D. 4th-7th century). In another group, Red Slipped Late Roman Wares (Africa, Phokaia, Cyprus) and Eastern Mediterranean (Aegean and its islands, Southern Anatolia and Cyprus, Levant, Egypt) Amphoras has appeared. When the buff slip ware samples' clay color and the additives in clay dough are considered, it can be said these are the local wares of the region. In addition to this, given rich findings and a great number of form samples by the Northern Syria Amphoras found in rural areas such as Yenice Höyük and Dede Harabeleri around it indicates the existence of a workshop in a central region of the surroundings. Keywords: Hellenistic Period, Roman Era, The Middle Euphrates, Yenice Höyük, Kilis, Ware.