Archaeology and Urban Settlement in Late Roman and Byzantine Anatolia: Euchaïta-Avkat-Beyözü and its Environment

Description

The site of medieval Euchaïta, on the northern edge of the central Anatolian plateau, was the centre of the cult of St Theodore Tiro ('the Recruit'). Unlike most excavated or surveyed urban centres of the Byzantine period, Euchaïta was never a major metropolis, cultural centre or extensive urban site, although it had a military function from the seventh to ninth centuries. Its significance lies precisely in the fact that as a small provincial town, something of a backwater, it was probably more typical of the 'average' provincial Anatolian urban settlement, yet almost nothing is known about such sites. This volume represents the results of a collaborative project that integrates archaeological survey work with other disciplines in a unified approach to the region both to enhance understanding of the history of Byzantine provincial society and to illustrate the application of innovative approaches to field survey. Cover Half-title Title page Copyright information Table of contents List of Figures, Maps and Tables List of Contributors Preface A Note on Figures, Maps and Tables List of Abbreviations Introduction 1 Physical and Historical Introduction Research Questions Physical Introduction Historical and Archaeological Introduction Iron Age and Hellenistic Pontus under Roman control Late Roman Pontus 2 Geology, Geomorphology and Palaeoenvironments Geological Setting Physical Geography and Geomorphology Rivers, Soils and Land-Use Climate Modern-Day Vegetation Patterns Past Vegetation and Palaeoenvironmental Reconstructions Acknowledgements 3 The Survey The Survey: Identifying the Area of Interest (AOI) Types of Survey Methods Village Survey Intensive Survey Hardware, Software and Networking: Database and Data Structure Field Methods Identifying Vestiges of Landscape Use Landscape History Discussion 4 Travel and Communication Introduction Roads in the Roman and Byzantine World of Euchaïta Euchaïta’s Landscape (and the People Who Write About It) Least-Cost Path Analysis at AAP: Methods, Issues and Results The Roads on the Ground The Main Road to the West The Main Road to the East Euchaïta’s Connecting Roads Discussion 5 The Countryside Introduction Long-Term Trends Observed from Textual and Documentary Sources The Demographic Context Agriculture in Northern Anatolia and at Euchaïta from Medieval and Early Modern Sources Olives in the Euchaïta Region? Cereals Animals Modelling Zones of Exploitation in Archaeology Territoriality, Exploitation Zones and Landscape Archaeology Constructing a Model of Site Exploitation Territories in the Mecitözü Valley Computational GIS Model Satellite Data Selection Multispectral Analysis Using Landsat Imagery Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) Land-Use Towards a Landscape Archaeology of the Mecitözü Valley Implications for Late Roman and Byzantine Euchaïta Conclusion 6 The Ceramics, Agricultural Resources and Food* Introduction Late Roman–Byzantine Ceramics Medieval Ceramics Post-Medieval Ceramics Two Early Byzantine Amphorae: Containers for Spiced Wine Middle Byzantine Amphorae: Containers for Holy Wine The Production of Food Food in Environmental Research: The Byzantine and Medieval Periods Archaeobotanical Research in Turkey Archaeozoological Research in Turkey The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid Availability of Food in Byzantine Anatolia: The Environmental Evidence Availability of Food in Byzantine Anatolia: The Written Evidence Consumption in the Avkat Region during Byzantine Times Some Conclusions: The Avkat Ceramics in a Functional Perspective 7 The Archaeology of the City and Its Hinterland The Coins The Cemetery The Kale The Intensive Survey Local Context Conclusions 8 Euchaïta: From Late Roman and Byzantine Town to Ottoman Village Euchaïta and St Theodore ‘the Recruit’ Pilgrimage and Cult Centre Euchaïta: A Typical Small Provincial Town in North-Central Anatolia? Location and Communications The Broader Picture: Settlement Context and Function The End of Euchaïta Some Concluding Remarks Introduction Church Area 2007: GPR and Magnetic Gradient Surveys1 Wall F0204 Kale Tepe Methodology GPR Magnetometry Conclusions Developing Archetypes Measuring the Landscape Evaluating Site Function 1 Ioannes the Imperial Coppersmith (Blacksmith?) 2 Germanos the Reader 3 Marianos the Deacon 4 Possibly a Deacon 5 Stephanos the Reader and paramonarios 6 Theodoros 7 … 8 Patrikia 9 … 10 Ioustina, Daughter/Wife of Theodoros 11 Mousonia, Abbess 12 Ioannes 13 Ioannes (and) Romana 14 Anatolios 15 … 16 Latin Milestone Probably Dedicated to the Emperor Maximinus Thrax and His Son Maximus 17 Ioannes, Deacon and manager of a Storage Room (kellarios) 18 Paulos 19. Master Craftsman Sadiiq of Çorum and Others Appendix 1: Remote Sensing and Geophysical Prospection Introduction Church Area 2007: GPR and Magnetic Gradient Surveys1 Wall F0204 Kale Tepe Methodology GPR Magnetometry Conclusions Appendix 2: The Coins List of Coins Appendix 3: Assigning Function to Survey Data Using Heuristic Geospatial Modelling Developing Archetypes Measuring the Landscape Evaluating Site Function Appendix 4: Epigraphy 1 Ioannes the Imperial Coppersmith (Blacksmith?) 2 Germanos the Reader 3 Marianos the Deacon 4 Possibly a Deacon 5 Stephanos the Reader and paramonarios 6 Theodoros 7 … 8 Patrikia 9 … 10 Ioustina, Daughter/Wife of Theodoros 11 Mousonia, Abbess 12 Ioannes 13 Ioannes (and) Romana 14 Anatolios 15 … 16 Latin Milestone Probably Dedicated to the Emperor Maximinus Thrax and His Son Maximus 17 Ioannes, Deacon and manager of a Storage Room (kellarios) 18 Paulos 19 Master Craftsman Sadiiq of Çorum and Others Bibliography 1. Sources: Late Roman, Byzantine/Medieval 2. Sources: Travellers 3. Sources: Turkish and Ottoman 4. Sources: Turkish Republic reference and statistical sources 5. Literature Index