ilham sakarya

Ongoing excavation in the city center and harbor complex of Burgaz, on the Datça Peninsula in southwest Turkey, provides occasion to investigate the long-term dynamics of ceramic production and maritime circulation from the Archaic era through the end of antiquity. Since 2013, these efforts have included the chemical (pXRF) and mineralogical (petrography) characterization of pottery with an eye toward: (1) identifying the range and variety of local ceramic traditions within Burgaz and its territory, including distinguishing fabric groups representative of smaller production contours across the peninsula; (2) understanding the relationship between changing forms and fabrics over the history of local production based on evidence ranging from excavated workshops to geological prospection in the environs of Burgaz; and (3) quantifying trends in the import and export dynamics of a long-lived eastern Mediterranean maritime center. Since this port town served variously as its own nexus for small-scale short-haul regional exchange and a link between the local agricultural economy and the wider interregional Mediterranean trade, a detailed analysis of ceramics from the city and harbor contexts may shed light on Burgaz’s place in the shifting maritime economics between the Archaic period and late antiquity. This paper presents results of the 2013-2014 analyses, addressing the overall potential of pXRF and petrographic methods in characterizing the long-term dynamics of maritime economies at the local, regional, and interregional scales.