Archaeologists have identified 27 clay perfume bottles and other cosmetic vessels uncovered near the Temple of Zeus in present-day western Turkey, suggesting a shop may have operated at the site about 2,200 years ago. Excavators found them in 2022 in the ancient Greek city of Aizanoi.
A study published in the journal Arkeoloji Dergisi dates them to the second century B.C. Hüseyin Usta, an archaeologist at Kütahya Dumlupınar University, studied the containers and their archaeological setting.
The objects came from a spot east of the temple, beside the northeastern corner of a monumental entrance staircase. A test pit measuring just 95 centimeters (37.4 inches) on each side revealed a packed-earth floor about 1 meter (3.3 feet) beneath the marble courtyard of a later Roman marketplace.
The floor had been damaged by fire, and the vessels were recovered in place. The concentration of containers led Usta to suggest the structure may have been a pottery or cosmetics shop.
Perfume bottles near the Temple of Zeus include rare painted designs
The collection includes 26 vessels known as unguentaria and one alabastron. Unguentaria were used to hold perfume, scented oils, and other substances. Some also contained honey or spices. They appeared in everyday settings as well as graves and places of worship.
All 26 unguentaria have long necks and slender, tapering bodies. Usta classified them into four groups. Fourteen have horizontal painted bands, four combine bands with plant designs, three have small handles near their shoulders, and five have simple red coatings.
Among the most unusual finds are fragments of large decorated containers that may have reached about 45 centimeters (nearly 18 inches) in height. Such vessels were likely intended for storage, according to comparisons in the study.
The alabastron, another fragrance container, is an 11.3-centimeter (4.4-inch) vessel with a rounded, baglike body and pointed bottom. Usta found no exact clay counterpart from the same period, though similar shapes are known in glass.
Burned floor points to a possible marketplace before Roman rule
Usta dated the finds using the burned layer and comparisons with pottery from other sites. Most similar examples belong to the second century B.C., although the handled vessels resemble examples from the late third century B.C.
A nearby Hellenistic house also suffered a fire. Usta suggests the two buildings may have been destroyed in the same blaze around the middle of the second century B.C. or shortly afterward.
Aizanoi is better known for its Roman buildings and later prosperity. Evidence of its earlier settlement has been limited, making these vessels valuable for tracing how the city developed.
The finds support Usta’s proposal that the Roman marketplace may have occupied ground used for trading centuries earlier.
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