TLOS VE SİLİFKE BULUNTULARI IŞIĞINDA KARTACA AMULETLERİ

Abstract

In this study two formed double-faced female head pendants, one was obtained from the Tlos excavations and the other is already exhibited in Silifke Museum, were researched. The first pendant was founded from the stadium excavations in Tlos, one of the important cities in Lycia region. However, the other one, not known the exact findspot due to acquiring by buying, is a part of the archeological collection in Silifke Museum. Both of them have been made by rod-formed and pressing glass technics from dark blue glass. The frontal depicted female head with Egypt-wig, repeated on both the obverse and the reverse side, can be seen on them. The objects have been used as a pendant according to Silifke example, ending with a ring at the top. On the other hand, the examples without having a ring, can be suggested that they must have been used as a pin head because of the hole, which is slightly off center and continued through neck. Both examples have a characteristic of orient pendants with double-faced amulet groups, disappeared from a wide area due to Mediterranean trade. Moreover, the double-faced male pendant with moustache and beard as a version of female pendant is known. Up till now the most comprehensive study about double-faced male and female pendants has been done by Haevernick. In her study, she suggested that the origin of these pendants was Carthage, colonized by Phoenicians at the 9th century BC., and they should be dated to the 4th century BC. The double-faced pendants obtained from Egypt, Levant, West Anatolia, the shore of Black Sea, Greece, Sicily and Spain are a different version based on human-faced amulets in Phoenicians art at the 7th century BC. It is thought that these female pendants, having simple form without any goddess symbol, symbolize Tanit in Carthage religion while Astarte in Phoenicians religion. Consequently, the pendants researched within the scope of this paper have been used as amulets, protecting humans from evil other than just being ornamental objects. In terms of the dispersion area, these pendants have been mainly found in the coastal cities related with Mediterranean trade. Double faced female pendants from Tlos and Silifke are very important with regard to both the dispersion area and the variety of typology represented by 8 samples in Anatolia until now.