Pottery from the stadium area in Tlos ancient city

POTTERY FROM STADIUM AREA IN TLOS ANCIENT CITY This study includes all periods and ceramics detected inside stadium area that has been excavated since 2007. All ceramic material beginning from the second half of VIth millennium BC till XXth century AD has been evaluated for handling settlement chronology of the site. Thus, while settlement history of the site and Lykia region was being observed specifically, acculturation with surrounding regions such as Middle and West Anatolia, Mediterranean Basin and Greece could have been examined. Ceramics dated to Middle Chalcolithic Period have been classified in themselves and placed into that period chronology in close and far regions. The ceramics examined within the scope of thesis have presented significant data about Middle Chalcolithic Period that is characterized as dark period especially in Southwest Anatolian Plateau in literature. The latter period evaluated in study field is Middle/Late Bronze Age. Many forms from layers that were also dated with C14 analysis and that were known from both Middle Anatolia and West Anatolia, Islands and Greece Mainland have been evaluated together with their chronogical development and analogy. Findings of stadium area that have parallels with Hittite Imperial Period in Anatolia and time gap in which Mycenaean culture dominated in Aegean world will add a new dimension to discussions in Lycian archaeology. The fact that architectural and archaeological findings about Early Iron Age and latter period which were left in the dark because of epigraphical and archaeological material deficiency in Lycia have been detected in Stadium Area shows that settlement chronology continued uninterruptedly in the region. One of the problems handled within this scope is why the ceramics produced with decorating tradition of Protogeometrical Period were observed until the end of Archaic Period in specific to Lycia. It has been understood when looked into Archaic Period that ceramic typology found in architectural context in Stadium Area cultural parallels with sites of the region. It has been seen when looked into ceramics dated to Classical and Hellenistic Period that there were very weak data presented as numeric and typology. As a result of the fact that Stadium Building built in Hellenistic Period and continued its functionality in Roman Period lost its function in Late Roman/Early Byzantine Period, the area was partly settled with houses and covered with layer of fill in time. Among these uncertain layers in terms of stratigraphy, pots belonged to time period beginning from Roman Imperial Period until Late Antique Period were detected together. Byzantine houses of which early phase goes back to Late Antique Period have presented significant information about ceramic repertory of XIIth-XIIth century AD. Lasty, local and imported ceramic samples dated to XVIIth-XIXth century AD have been handled and all ceramics that had parallels to the chronology of the site and the region have been gathered up.