HELLENISTIC PERIOD WHEEL-MADE TERRACOTTA LAMPS FROM THE SINOP MUSEUM
HELLENISTIC PERIOD WHEEL-MADE TERRACOTTA LAMPS FROM THE SINOP MUSEUM

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the wheel-made oil lamps dating to the Hellenistic Period in the Sinop Museum. The wheel-made oil lamps, which were found in the ancient city of Sinope, one of the most important harbour cities of the Paphlagonia Region, and included in the museum collection through excavations, purchases and donations, were evaluated in seven different groups. Due to the lack of stratigraphical dating data, the lamps were identified by examining similar lamps from nearby or distant centres. The earliest examples are Attic oil lamps dated to the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BC. The latest examples are represented by oil lamps dating to the middle of the 1st century BC. In addition to the lamps representing the workshops of Attica, western Anatolia, Rhodes and Pontus, imitations of popular forms of the period produced by local workshops have also been identified. While the majority of these Hellenistic oil lamps are common finds on contemporary sites in the Mediterranean and Black Sea area, a minority of lamps in the assemblage are only known at Sinope ancient city. These data prove that there was an intensive production of oil lamps in the ancient city of Sinope, although no workshop has yet been identified.

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