Anfora Spatheion

Knidos, situated at the southwestern tip of Asia Minor is a city with double-view and a grid (hippodamic) plan, located on two harbors. A building complex has been discovered in the south of the city consisting of seven juxtaposed quadrilateral Rooms and 4 sub-places belonging to the first three of these rooms at a distance of 45 meters from the starting point of the street which is called “Harbor Street”. This complex, which was constructed as part of a major renovation in the second quarter of the fourth century BC, was used for a row of shops in line. The changes in the plan and architectural factors detected on the site indicate that the building called “Room 4,” which is the main focus of this study, had a different function during the Roman Imperial period. This structure, which had been used as a modest shop during the late Classical and Hellenistic periods, became a splendid heroon with Corinthian distyle in antis during the late Antonine period. The heroon  consisted of two sections, a rectangular planned Room, and a platform where the tomb of the heroon’s owner was located as well as a rectangular niche. “Room 4” was later turned into a workshop and/or
shop with some changes during Late Antiquity. Although the current data show that the heroon was turned into a workshop,
archaeological excavations could not identified what kind of a workshop or shop it was. However, the duct system, amphorae placed in it, the high-temperature furnace in the corner of the structure, heavy iron dross, a depot and containers for storage, and spatheia amphorae containing yellow paint indicate manufacturing activities based on a heating and cooling system. The transformation of the structure from heroon to workshop/shop is traced by the archaeological data, particularly coins found there, which show that this change took place around the first quarter of the fifth century AD. The data regarding the use of the workshop/shop are verified as reliable, again thanks to the coins. Bronze
coins found in amphora nests and on the ground provide information about the last use of the structure. Based on these and extensive ceramic findings, the workshop/shop was used during the sixth century AD and abandoned in the mid-seventh century. Ceramic findings are directly connected to the last use of the structure, dated to the seventh century AD, are divided into four groups: fine ware (26%), cooking ware (12%), plain ware (26%), and amphorae (36%). The densest group that was brought to light was amphorae with 36%. This ratio should be deemed normal considering the storage, production, and commercial functions of the structure. This study offers new suggestions for the compromised dating of some forms found in the structure (African Red-Slip Hayes Form 109). The idea that spatheia amphorae, directly related to the original use phase of the workshop/shop in Late Antiquity, could have also been used for the transport of paint (sulfur or perite) can be discussed. This study provides some evaluations made based on daily usage types or secondary uses of some amphorae (spatheion) in antiquity. In this study, new suggestions about usage and contents of spatheion amphorae were given in the light of chemical analyzes. According to chemical analysis, three amphoras contain sulfur or perite. Similarly, the study focuses on secondary-use stoppers/pessoi samples
formed by using pieces of terracotta pots or amphorae.

The recent rescue excavation conducted during 2012 in the sanctuary of Apollo Erethimios at Theologos
of Rhodes, at the eastern part of the archaeological site, revealed new and most interesting finds
for the topography of the site and shed light to its historical course from late hellenistic times to late antiquity.
in the eastern section of the excavation plot, part of an early christian cemetery – known from
earlier expeditions – consisting of nine tombs, constructed with roof tiles was unearthed. A cistern discovered
in close distance was probably associated with them, serving the funerary cult. Westwards of
the cemetery, ruins of two buildings, belonging to two different periods, were investigated. The ruins
of the Hellenistic – badly preserved – building, which is probably dated in the  second half of
the second century BC, consist of oblong foundation walls and masonry of low elevation, which form
two series of rooms in repetition – with standard dimensions. The features of the structure, the ground
plan and its spot within the sanctuary, indicate a monumental portico (stoa) construction. Over the ancient
ruins and partially on them, another building of the Early Christian era was erected. The interior
spaces were covered with a destruction layer of broken roof tiles. The stratigraphy deriving from the roof
collapse and the finds accumulated (late roman amphoras and red slip wares), indicate the abandonment
of the building during the Arabic invasions of the second half of the 7th century AD.

Knidos, located in the southwestern part of Anatolia, was an important pottery production and export center during the
Hellenistic and Roman Empire periods. A context has been identified in the ‘Heroon of Harbor Street’, a late Roman
workshop dating to the first half of the 7th century CE. The coin finds clearly indicate that this site was used during the 6th
century CE. and abandoned with the mid-7th century CE. This evidence also makes it safe to say that the ceramic finds date
to the early and the first half of the 7th century CE.

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