CICERO'S MENTIONED TABLEWARE

• Ceramics recovered from a 2100-year-old shipwreck off the coast of Adrasan reflect the rich dining culture of the era. These ceramic tablewares, believed to have been produced on the shores of Rhosus (ancient name) in the Arsuz district of Hatay, are also mentioned in Cicero's correspondence.

Thousands of artifacts have been recovered from the shipwreck, discovered three years ago off the coast of Adrasan in Antalya, and excavations of which began last year. The main cargo of the 2,100-year-old wreck consists of plates and bowls originating from Antioch. Among the ceramics, thought to have been produced on the shores of Arsuz district in Hatay, formerly known as Rhosus, are nut plates, soup bowls, fish plates, and trays of various sizes. These products, particularly sought after in Rome, are among the luxury dinnerware of the Mediterranean world. What allowed the plates and bowls from the wreck to survive in such good condition is that clay was placed between the ceramics before they were packed into wooden crates.

The ceramics that Cicero ordered for his friend

The existence of ceramics produced in Arsuz is also found in the correspondence of the Roman orator and statesman Cicero. In a letter he wrote to his friend Atticus in 50 BC, Cicero describes ordering ceramic vessels from Rhosus for him. This correspondence shows that the tableware produced in the region was known and preferred in the Roman world.

1st century BC coins of Antioch origin found on the ship shed light on the dating of the shipwreck. The findings indicate that the ship operated within the trade network between Antioch, the Aegean, Greece and the Italian coasts in the mid-1st century BC.

It is estimated that the ship, which is thought to have set sail from Arsuz, sank after hitting a shoal during a storm, probably while heading towards Rome.