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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Perinthos |
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For site maps and drawings please click on the picture...  |
For photographs please click on the photo...  |
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Type:
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City |
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Altitude:
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m |
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Region:
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Marmara |
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Province:
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Tekirdag |
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District:
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Marmara Ereglisi |
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Village:
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Merkez |
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Investigation Method:
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Excavation |
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Period:
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| Location: It is the modern Marmara Ereglisi District, 80 km west of Istanbul, 50 km east of Tekirdag on the northern shore of the Marmara Sea. It is known that it was founded as a colonial city in ca. 600 BC by the colonialists from Samos, and it was mentioned both by Herodotus [IV, 90; V, 1, 2; VI, 33; VII, 25] and Xenophon [Anabasis, VII, 2, 8; VII, 2, 10]. |
| Geography and Environment: It has two natural harbors. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: During "Epigraphical Surveys in Thrace" conducted by Z. Tasliklioglu, 11 rock graves were identified, one of them in a well-preserved condition on the slope of the Perinthos Acropolis overlooking the Marmara Sea. Surveys were conducted under the direction of N. Asgari by the Istanbul Archaeological Museums in 1980-81. Conducted on behalf of the general Directorate of Ancient Arts and Museums, topographic measurements were taken, and locations of the movable artifacts were identified [Asgari 1982:25]. In 1987, a salvage excavation was conducted in the Perinthos Stadion by M.A. Isin and N. Asgari [Asgari 1994:346]. The Perinthos Basilica which was exposed during the supervision of the foundation excavations in 1992 was excavated under the direction of M.A. Isin. The borders of the area occupied by the ancient city of Perinthos was investigated during the Surveys in Thrace resumed by M.H. Sayar [Sayar 1990:211]. Perinthos which is the most important historical harbor of Thrace was also subject to underwater archaeological studies [Isin 1997:99 vd.]. |
| Stratigraphy: |
| Small Finds: Architecture: A fragment of an anthemion stele dating to the Archaic Period is one of the known artifacts [Asgari 1994: pic.5]. There are 3 Archaic Period grave steles with anthemion at Perinthos [Sayar 1998:251-52, pl. XIX]. The 1st stele was found at Perinthos and was dated to ca. 525 BC, but its current location is unknown. The 2nd ve 3rd steleae were found at Perinthos-Kamaradere and dated to ca. 500 BC. These steleae are currently being displayed at the Tekirdag Archaeological Museum. Grave: The preserved Archaic Period stele which is almost 4-5 m high has two stories. The first storey consists of two nested chambers. The second storey accessible by stairs has a single chamber, and based on the projections on the floor, it seems that it had four columns. The additional niches on the walls indicate that it was used as a hidden church during the Iconoclastic Period in Byzantium. Epigraphic Material: There is an inscription of a single, but undecipherable word on the preserved rock grave, which was dated to 575-550 BC based on the fonts used. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: |
