THE TRACES OF THE EARLY IRON AGE AT AMOS

In this study, the evidence of the Early Iron Age obtained by the recent excavations carried out at Amos will be discussed. Amos located on the northeastern coast of Karia Chersonesos (Bozburun Peninsula), on the Asarcık Hill. Amos firstly appeared in the historical records by the 5th century BC. Amos, as a member of the Delian League, was recorded on the Athenian Tribute Lists of 428 BC. Following the establishment of the Rhodes state in 408 BC, the city became part of the Rhodian Peraea (Incorporated Peraea) and continued this situation until the 2nd century AD. Amos, also led a koinon, was abandoned by the 3rd century BC. The only research in the city was carried out by G. E. Bean in 1948. In addition to the survey that have been going on since 2019, the excavations began in 2020 yielded the earliest evidence of Amos. Up to the present, the earliest archaeological finds of Amos were from the 6th century BC. In the excavations carried out in the temple on the acropolis in 2021, some traces of the Early Iron Age were found. The remains of an apsidal building dated to the 10th century BC were found below the temple. Furthermore, outside the edifice a pyre (cremation area) associated with the building was found. After the secondary cremation, the intramural burial was placed under the floor of the structure. The first one of the two burials was placed in a belly amphora, the other into a necked amphora. Among the two urns, the necked amphora is decorated with concentric circles, while the belly amphora is a coarse ware. A bow fibula was found along with these amphorae as well. According to the widely view regarding the burial customs of the period, belly amphorae were preferred for women and necked amphorae for men. The apsidal building where a couple as an intramural burial in, must have belonged to a chief owing to a similar one in Lefkandi. It is possible to date the evidence at Amos from the Early Iron Age to the 10th century BC.