Contextualizing the consumption of Syro-Cilician ware at Tell Atchana / Alalakh (Hatay, Türkiye): a functional analysis

Abstract

Syro-Cilician Ware was the prevailing painted pottery style of the Amuq Valley, Cilicia and northwestern Syria in the first half of the second millennium BC and is characterized by its specific painted motif arrangements applied on particular vessel shapes. This paper investigates the consumption of this ware type at Tell Atchana / Alalakh (modern Hatay, Türkiye) in the Amuq Valley as a case study. Embracing a multi-dimensional approach, a functional analysis is conducted based on technological and morphological characteristics of the vessels as well as the nature of selected contexts from different parts of the site. The results have shown that Syro-Cilician Ware was likely appreciated as a serving set, in either abbreviated or elaborated variations, which completed a larger consumption set consisting of other ware and shape types. This is a pattern that reoccurs throughout both time and space at Tell Atchana / Alalakh, except for rare cases, signifying its role within the food and / or drink consumption traditions at the site. Moreover, several lines of evidence further point to the possible symbolic function of Syro-Cilician Ware, which appears to be reflected in the bird motif.