Özet:

The surface surveys and excavations performed at Hadrianopolis in Paphlagonia and the surrounding area have unearthed a rich collection of tombs consisting of a cist tomb, chamber tomb, pediment tomb, and a rock-cut tomb. Apart from these tomb types, the recovery of a plain limestone ostothec child sarcophagus lid, in the form of a gable roof, with the edge acroters taking the form of profile, with the dimensions of 84 x 68 cm in the excavation season of 2021, has revealed a new tomb type for the city and a new burial type at the same time. The tomb is in the form of a sarcophagus comprised of fragmented stones along with the in-situ state of the lid. The absence of the bracket slots on both sides of the lid, as seen on the plates identified at the bottom, suggests that the tomb had experienced two phases of use. Experts have argued that the lid was used as an ostotheca during its initial phase of use and later served as a pediment tomb, probably intended for a child, which is common only in the southern Paphlagonia Region. Based on the fact that the tomb has been used as an ostothec within its initial phase of use, it further revealed the presence of cremation burials in the region. The presence of ostothecae with and without epigraphs in the region reveals that cremation burial was preferred by both the general public and soldiers. Therefore, the cremation burial may simply have been preferred by everyone without requiring any privileged or special status within the society. The presence of the lid of the unearthed ostothecae proves that the cremation burial tradition previously known only in Amastrist and Pompeiopolis until today was also practiced in Hadrianopolis. This fact also suggests that not only ostothecae but also terra-cotta urns were used for cremation rituals within the city. Considering the limited amounts of regular archeological excavations executed in the city within the last ten years, the data related to the tomb typology and burial traditions will likely increase. New data will be acquired to demonstrate the cremation burial in the upcoming years.