Scarabe Amulets from 7th Century BC Graves of Stratonikeia in the Carian Territory

Abstract

Although the cultic relations of Stratonikeia and its environs, one of the cities in the interior of the Carian Region, with Egypt began in the Archaic Period, what is known on this subject is limited. As a result of the extensive archaeological investigations carried out in the northwest of the basin within the borders of Mugla Yatagan in the last 30 years, important findings that will contribute to the historical chronology of the region have been uncovered. This geography, which has hosted settlements belonging to different periods from the Chalcolithic Period to the present day, is generally clustered in the fertile valleys and slopes in the Eskihisar, Turgut, and Yesilbagcilar regions. Stratonikeia has become one of the important centers of the region with its structures that started to be built since the 6nd century BC. The settlement and necropolis areas unearthed in and around Stratonikeia contain a multi -layered cultural heritage texture. These settlements and necropolis areas, which are generally located within the Khrysaoris Region in the Archaic Period and Idrias Region in the Classical Period, remain within the territorium of Stratonikeia. Amulets with apotropaic function, which are grave finds in the rural Stratonikeia region and represented by a few examples, belong to different types and include various forms and materials, each associated with a different deity and function. All of these amulets provide information about the beliefs, cults, and trade of the region, provide definite archaeological evidence that these relations are quite old, and show that this dissemination reached the interior and mountainous parts of Caria by various means and was respected. The subject of this study is only a part of these amulets, namely the faience scarabs recovered as burial gifts from three separate children's graves of the same level from the Degirmenderesi necropolis in the territory of Stratonikeia. These scarabs, which were mainly used as protective amulets to ward off evil, constitute a unique group of finds recorded as eastern artifacts that reached the Carian Region with the influence of Mediterranean trade. The technical characteristics, iconography, ritual contexts, and functions of the scarabs, which are dated to the 7th century BC according to their context, have been evaluated, and some possibilities about their origin have been emphasized. It is belie- ved that these scarabs, which will contribute to the studies in the Aegean world from different angles and will take their place in the existing literature, show the stylistic characteristics of Aegean imitation productions.