GMKIBAROGLU
Red Lustrous Wheel-made Ware from Cilicia and the Amuq valley (South Anatolia): Archaeological and Archaeometrical Investigations of the Provenance of a characteristic Late Bronze Age Pottery
Proejct team and cooperations: Dr. Mustafa Kibaroglu (University of Tübingen), Prof. Dr. Ekin Kozal (University of Çanakkale, Turkey), cooperations: PD. Dr. Andreas Klügel (University of Bremen), Dr. Gerald Hartmann (University of Göttingen, Germany), Dr. Gürsel Sunal (Technical University of Istanbul)
Summary
The main aim of the project is to localize the production place of the Red Lustrous Wheel-made Ware (RL-Ware) using archaeometric methods. It is one of the most characteristic Late Bronze Age ceramic types found in a large area in the eastern Mediterranean. The geographical distribution of the RL-Ware stretches from Central and Southern Anatolia, Cyprus, the Levant to Egypt. The distribution pattern of the ware within Anatolia is related to the Hittite heartland and Cilicia. Due to its high quantity found in the distribution area, the ware is distinguishable from the other luxury goods exchanged between the regions. In this context, it is comparable to the Mycenaean and Cypriote ware. RL-Ware, in the manner of the Mycenaean and Cypriote Ware, demonstrates interregional cultural contacts in the eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age. However, the distribution pattern of the RL-Ware is clearly different compared to the Mycenaean and Cypriote Ware.
Though the RL-Ware has been intensively investigated in an archaeological and archaeometric context, there are still some questions that are unresolved, especially the provenance of the ware, which complicates the archaeological interpretations. Therefore, the main objective of the project is to determine the provenance of the RL-Ware using archaeometric methods. In the course of this, especially the new archaeological evidence from Kilise Tepe, Kinet Höyük and Tell Alalakh will be an important part of the study. We intend to analyse representative RL-Ware and local clay samples from Cilicia and Alalakh using analytical techniques such as ICP-MS, Sr and Nd isotopes, petrographic thin section and X-ray diffraction (XRD).
