659 REI CRETARIÆ ROMANÆ FAVTORVM ACTA 45, 2018 Ertekin M. Doksanalti & Erdogan Aslan COMPARISON OF A ‘SHIP-TYPE’ BRAZIER FOUND IN KNIDOS UNDERWATER RESEARCH AND ‘SHIP-TYPE’ BRAZIERS OF THE ROMAN IMPERIAL PERIOD Introduction 1 Knidos is located in the Caria region, in the southwest of Anatolia. This ancient city is at the westernmost point of the mountainous Datça Peninsula, which is within the borders of Datça County in the province of Muğla. Knidos features two harbors, one in the northwest called the Military/ Trireme-Small Harbor, and the other in the southeast called the Commercial-Large Harbor. Submerged wrecks found in spots close to the city, the wrecks around the commercial harbor pier, and the contexts and deposits of the pier all serve to indicate that the city’s location must have lain at the intersection of sea routes and featured heavy sea traffic 2 . During the excavations and underwater research conduc- ted in Knidos in 2015, many ancient shipwrecks, roof tiles, which were contained in the cargo of these wrecks, amphorae, architectural blocks and stone and iron anchors were also found, in addition to the ship-type brazier discussed here. 3 The brazier was found at a depth of 15 meters on the northern pier of the ‘Commercial Harbor’ (fig. 1). Shipworms and concrete residues on the brazier were removed by the conservators 1 This study was conducted under the auspices of Knidos Excavations and Research performed on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Selçuk University under the Republic of Turkey, Council Of Ministers’ Decision no 2013-5387. This article was supported with the projects no 14401067 (Knidos Excavation and Research I) and no 15401092 (Knidos Ancient City Harbor and Underwater Research) of Selçuk University, Coordinatorship of Scientific Research Projects. The Antalya brazier – the second subject of this article – was published un- der permit 983 of the Directorate of Antalya Museum dated 07.16.2016. We extend our gratitude to Mustafa Demirel, Head of the Directorate of Antalya Museum, who supported us in publishing the Antalya Brazier. 2 ASLAN 2015, 101–120; BÜYÜKÖZER 2013, 147; DOKSANALTI/ASLAN 2016, 71–72 fig. 14–15. 3 ASLAN 2015, 108 fig. 11; E. DOKSANALTI/E. ASLAN ET.AL, Knidos Exca- vations and Researches: 2015. 38. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı (in press). after they had taken the necessary precautions. The Knidos brazier is now displayed at the nearby Marmaris Museum. A second ship-type brazier, now in the Antalya museum, was also included in this study. These braziers, which were made of terracotta and known to have been used in ancient ships, are very rare to find, on account of the fact that many had been destroyed. The clay material and shape characteristics of the brazier fragments found during the excavations and underwater researches closely resemble storage cases and coating plates and have therefore often been mistaken for them. This confusion makes it difficult to detect the form development and distribution fields related to the braziers. Knidos Ship-type Brazier (figs. 1–2) The Knidos brazier was determined to have been used in ships due to its findspot and the characteristics of its form (fig.1). It has an approximate size of W. 0.41 × L. 0.45 × H. 0.22 m. The brazier consists of a fire bowl, attachment, tray and low stand. The width and the height of the (U-shaped) fire bowl are 0.16 m. There are three attachments along the rim (L: 0.047 m, H: 0.016 m) of the fire bowl, with the most solid attachment having a width, length and height of 0.037 m, 0.077 m, and 0.031 m, respectively. An oval tray is positioned in front of the fire bowl. The preserved part of the tray, a section of which is broken, has a width, length and height of 0.40 m, 0.26 m, and 0.05 m, respectively. Two (L-shaped) low supports (H: 0.05 m) are positioned facing one another under the fire bowl and tray sections of the brazier. These stands are trapezoidal and have a gap on the front side. This gap serves a dual purpose, namely to prevent the heat in the fire bowl from reaching the ground and to create air circulation around the area to cool down the lower part of the brazier. Braziers, specially fabricated to warm up the ship and carry out cooking activities, were introduced. Different ship braziers were produced, varying depending upon the places and conditions in which they were used. This study examines different types of braziers (referred to here as ship-type braziers), which have been found underwater. Using data taken from a ship- type brazier found during the Knidos underwater researches and a brazier on exhibit at the Antalya Archaeological Museum, this article aims to determine the chronological and typological development of the braziers found in different spots along the sea courses of ancient ships in the Mediterranean Basin. Ship-type braziers, whose names have been designated according to their findspots, were used from the late 1 st century BC until the 10 th century AD. Considering their characteristics, the ship-type Knidos braziers have been determined to date back to the1 st century BC and were used up to the 1 st century AD.