La ville de Sinope, réflexions historiques et archéologiques

Abstract

AbstractThe City of Sinope: Historical and Archaeological ReflectionsThis contribution concentrates on the city of Sinope in antiquity, on the urban morphology of a city constantly under occupation from the time of its founding in the 7th century BC. It starts out by presenting the city of Sinope through literary and numismatic sources and then provides an account of the excavations undertaken during the 20th century (the German-Turkish expedition under L. Budde and E. Akurgal in 1951-1953 and urban prospecting work by British Byzantinists A. Bryer and D. Winfled in the years 1960-1970). The third part of the article brings readers an idea of the archaeology of the city drawing on studies of the walls of Sinope, the urban organization of the city in antiquity and the ancient monuments still visible, such as the “Temple of Serapis” and the “Balat Kilise”. In conclusion new themes for future reflection are suggested such as the identification of the “Temple of Serapis” as a herôon and the location of an aqueduct at Sinope, which had still been visible at the beginning of the 20th century.