JOURNAL OF ANCIENT HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY, cilt.9, sa.2, ss.189-204, 2022 (ESCI)
In Late Antiquity, the ancient city of Tralleis was one of the important centres of Western Anatolia. The importance of Tralleis is supported by the richness of the finds unearthed during the excavations in the ancient city, as well as the information that has survived from the sources of the Late Antiquity to this day. Excavations in the ancient city were carried out periodically by different teams. Gymnasium, North and West Shops located around the Gymnasium, Roman Villa Sectors, and Episcopal Church identified as the Byzantine Period church were unearthed. Excavation and restoration works were carried out in front of the Underground Tunnel System, previously referred to as the Arsenal, and inside the tunnel entrance. As a result of the excavations carried out in these areas until today, many small finds have been obtained. The small finds provide data on the daily life of the city, its trade and the transition from a polytheistic belief system to a monotheistic belief system.
During the arrangements made in the Tralleis excavation warehouse between 2020-2022, it was determined that there were many metal finds belonging to the Late Antiquity and Early Byzantine Period. Cosmetic and medical instruments stand out among the metal finds. In our study, a preliminary evaluation will be made on the cosmetic and medical instruments found as a result of the works in the warehouse of the ancient city of Tralleis and the warehouse of the Aydın Archeology Museum. In this study, twenty-eight metal cosmetic and medical instruments found in the ancient city of Tralleis will be introduced.