A comprehensive archaeometric research on Roman ceramics of Sinop (Black Sea)

Abstract

A multi analytical approach was applied to Roman ceramics excavated from the city center and the Church‐Necropolis area in Kılıçlı plateau (Boyabat) in Sinop/Black Sea, Turkey. The samples were exposed to various characterization methods including spectroscopic, microscopic and thermal techniques. The relatively high amounts of CaO suggested use of calcareous clay batches for most of the Gülümoğlu Roman (GR) and Boyabat Roman (BR) potsherds. The hierarchical cluster analysis revealed two main groups excluding GR‐7. Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) pointed out two sub‐groups for the BR samples, and GR‐7 was out of the groups. The statistical approach suggested two different raw materials for GR and BR pottery which could be assigned to use of local raw materials for each settlement. The sub‐groups in BR samples and the clear distinction of GR‐7 also pointed out diverse clay sources would have been used in pottery production. The mineralogical components of the potsherds indicated a firing temperature range of 900°C in average. A comparison of the chemical and mineralogical compositions of the potsherds with the former works proposed that most of the samples show similarities with some of the formerly investigated ceramic groups of Hellenistic and Roman periods in Sinop. Considering the whole data, the Roman potsherds in the present study are thought to represent the local wares of Sinop and they might have been manufactured in one of the pottery ateliers located on the coastline in the south of Sinop peninsula.