New rock-cut tombs at Etenna and the rock-cut tomb tradition in southern Anatolia

Abstract

AbstractThe 41 rock-cut tombs at Etenna provide a clear impression of this very early and widespread tradition for the region. They allow us to compare the Lycian, Pamphylian, Cilician and Pisidian rock-cut tomb architecture and understand connections and discontinuities between them. They also illustrate how features of such tombs are based on natural and technical factors, on local architectural traditions, or on the rock-cut architecture of neighbouring cultures. But basic similarities, such as the cutting of a tomb chamber in the rock, could occur without any influence from other cultural regions, for instance because of similar burial needs, similar natural materials or similar architectural knowledge. The influences between the rock-cut tombs of different regions and periods can be seen in the particular details, and their relation to local burial customs. Questions are asked, such as: if there were Lycian tombs in the Classical period, why were there no rock-cut tombs in Pamphylia in this period; why did the ‘dominant Lycian Classical culture’ not influence Pamphylia; and what were the tombs of the higher social classes of the societies of Classical Pamphylia?