Rough Cilicia Research Articles

On the Extinction of the Luwian ziti-Names, on Lycian Ipresida and the Caunian Imbros

The Luwian personal names formed with -ziti ‘man’ did not survive into the later hieroglyphic inscriptions; the latest clear example is attested at Carchemish around 975 BC. They were not continued in the names formed with -σητα in the Pisidian inscriptions from Sofular, with -σητας in Greek inscriptions from Rough Cilicia, Isauria and the eastern margin of Pamphylia, nor those with -σατης in Pisidia and Lycaonia or -σατας in Pamphylia: We should expect *-ζιδις, or at least *-σιδις, and the η of -σητα points rather to a non-Luwian language. The Carian name Músat has therefore nothing to do with Luwian Muwaziti either, and probably not even with Pisidian Μουσητα: it would be better to compare it with other Carian names ending in -at. The Lycian name Ipresida in Tlos and Cyaneae corresponds to Ἰμβρασίδης in Simena and probably also in Tlos, and it is altogether improbable that this is the Luwian name Im(ma)raziti in Greek guise (see Imbrasides as a patronym in the Iliad and in the Aeneid). Its use as a personal name in Lycia and nowhere else may have been stimulated by its re-interpretation as a theophoric name, see Iprehi, probably a theonym (perhaps corresponding to Apollo), in Tlos too. In Lycian only sidi, probably ‘son-in-law’, corresponds to Luwian ziti- in the sense of ‘husband’. The mountain Imbros = Ölemez Dağ near Caunos has a walled settlement on top, and a remarkable quantity of Imbrians is attested in the inscriptions of Caunos. The name of the settlement is attested by Iβr at the beginning of a Carian inscription, probably followed by the Carian word for ‘demiurgos’. Its name should be analysed as imb-r-, because *imb-, alone is attested by Carian βanol = Ιβανωλλις and Ιμβιαιμις in Lycia. It has therefore nothing to do with Luwian *im(ma)ra- = Hittite gimra- ‘field’, just as Lycian Iprehi and Ipresida.

The 2016 Dana Island Survey: Investigation of an Island Harbor in Ancient Rough Cilicia by the Boğsak Archaeological Survey

Dana Island (ancient Pityoussa) is the largest island of the Tasucu Gulf in Rough Cilicia (Turkey). It is strategically located ca. 2.5 km off the shores of the rugged mainland along an ancient mar...

Book Review of Rough Cilicia: New Historical and Archaeological Approaches. Proceedings of an International Conference Held at Lincoln, Nebraska, October 2007, edited by Michael C. Hoff and Rhys F. Townsend

Book Review of Rough Cilicia: New Historical and Archaeological Approaches. Proceedings of an International Conference Held at Lincoln, Nebraska, October 2007, edited by Michael C. Hoff and Rhys F. Townsend

Palynological evidence for human occupation in western Rough Cilicia (southwest Turkey)

Paleo-environmental investigation of landscape transformation has enabled the Rough Cilicia Survey Project (south coastal Turkey) to supplement its archaeological analysis of the process of Romanization. During Antiquity, Rough Cilicia was celebrated for its cedar wood, the rot-resistant properties of which made it excellent ship-building material. Today, all trace of ancient cedar forests of the Rough Cilician highland has vanished, raising important questions about the sustainability of ancient forestry practices. Remote sensing analysis indicates that approximately 3.5% of the region's current forest cover is represented by a mixed forest of cedar and fir trees; whereas, 8.5% is represented by black pine. Palynological analysis of pollen samples obtained from four geomorphologic trenches indicate a common pattern of Cedrus dominance followed by Abies, Pinus, Juniperus, Quercus ilex type and Juglans. An inverse relationship appears to exist between Cedrus, Abies, and Pinus. The intermittent presence of additional invasive species such as Quercus and Juniperus raises the likelihood of periods of more arid (colder) climate (scenario 1) or secondary growth following forest clearance (scenario 2). The emergence of Juglans in the upper zone of the pollen diagrams confirms the existence of anthropogenic activity.

The Jewish Communities in Eastern Rough Cilicia

The Jewish Communities in Eastern Rough Cilicia

A New Approach to Reporting Archaeological Surveys: Connecting Rough Cilicia, Visible Past and Open Context through loose coupling and 3d codes

The project presents the strategy adopted by the Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey team for publishing its primary data and reports via three potentially transformative strategies for digital humanities: Loose coupling of digital data curation and publishing platforms. In loosely coupled systems, components share only a limited set of simple assumptions, which enables systems to evolve dynamically. Collaborative creation of map based narrative content. Connecting print scholarship (book, reports, article) to online resources via two-dimensional barcodes (2D codes) that can be printed on paper and can call up hyperlinks when scanned with a Smartphone. The three strategies are made possible by loosely coupling two autonomous services: Visible Past, dedicated to web collaboration and digital-print publishing and Open Context, which is a geo-historical data archiving and publishing service. The Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey, Visible Past, and Open Context work together to illustrate a new genre of scholarship, which combine qualitative narratives and quantitative representations of space and social phenomena. The project provides tools for collaborative creation of rich scholarly narratives that are spatially located and for connecting print publications to the digital realm. The project is a case study for utilizing the three new strategies for creating and publishing spatial humanities scholarship more broadly for ancient historians.

The Jewish Communities in Eastern Rough Cilicia

This article discusses Jewish communities and their material remains in Eastern Rough Cilicia mainly during the Hellenistic and Roman Periods. After mentioning some written sources about the Jewish presence in western Anatolia, the general paucity of testimonies about Jewish communities in central and eastern Anatolia is emphasized. This lack of evidence might be due to the fact, that both areas are not as well explored and researched as Western Anatolia. The focus of the paper lies on the eastern most region of Rough Cilicia. It discusses rock inscriptions, rock carvings, and (decorated) architectural remains which bear witness to a strong Jewish presence in many cities of this region.

The archaeology of deforestation in south coastal Turkey

The Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey Project investigates landscape transformation as a component to its regional survey of ancient Rough Cilicia (south coastal Turkey opposite Cyprus). Rough Cilicia was celebrated during antiquity for pristine cedar forests that stood between 1500 and 1800 m in altitude along the slopes of the Taurus Mountains. Today along the front range of the Taurus Mountains this forest is completely denuded or otherwise replanted with recent growth in the past 80 years. We employ paleoenvironmental analysis of relic cedar forests in the Taurus Mountains to construct a timeline of anthropogenic disturbances associated with population growth over time and thereby assess the sustainability of ancient forestry practices. To obtain these data, the team recovers pollen and carbon samples from geomorphologic trenches excavated in the cedar zone, tree ring data from dendrochronological survey of the existing forest, and archaeological data from remains of ancient highland settlements. Preliminary results indicate that current perspectives about the timing of deforestation in this region are flawed and that the initial deforestation coincided with regional site abandonment and population decline at the end of antiquity.

The Strange Love of the Fish and the Goat: Regional Contexts and Rough Cilician Religion in Oppian's Halieutica 4.308-73

This paper examines one of the better-known episodes in Oppian's Halieutica , an unusual account that describes first the strange desire of a fish, the σαργός, for the goat, and then the bizarre way in which that desire is manipulated by humans to capture the fish (4.308-73). Although it has been dismissed by most previous scholars as the product of ignorance, misunderstood source material or poetic imagination, I argue that this account can be elucidated by evidence for social, economic and religious contexts in the poet's native Rough Cilicia.

DOGU DAĞLIK KİLİKİA'DA ROMA İMPARATORLUK DÖNEMİNDE İMAR HAREKETLİLİĞİNİN VE ÜRETİM ARTIŞININ NEDENLERİ

The archaeological data point to an increase in construction activities within Eastern Rough Cilician cities during the periods of Marcus Aurelius - Lucius Verus and the Severian period. Especially from the end of the 2nd century AD and the early 3rd century AD onwards, the production of olive oil, wine and cereals increase as well. In this study, the reasons of this increase in agricultural production in Eastern Rough Cilicia is associated with military expeditions. Furthermore, the increase in construction activities is explained with the financing of emperors and city elites.

Life in the Truck Lane: Urban Development in Western Rough Cilicia

The members of the Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey Team dedicate this essay to the memory of Kurt Tomaschitz, a remarkable scholar who passed away tragically in May 2008. As Assistant Professor with the Institut für Alte Geschichte und Altertumskunde, Papyrologie und Epigraphik at the University of Vienna, Kurt Tomaschitz was arguably the leading authority on Rough Cilician epigraphy of our generation. His publications, »Unpublizierte Inschriften Westkilikiens aus dem Nachlaß T.B. Mitfords« (1998) and »Repertorium der westkilikischen Inschriften« (with Stefan Hagel, 1998), remain fundamental to the understanding of social institutions and urban development in Roman Rough Cilicia.

Mut-Dağpazarı Aspendos Stater Definesi

270 adet güreşçi figürlü gümüş Aspendos stateri'nden oluşan bu define, 2007 yılında, Mersin İli, Mut İlçesi, Dağpazarı Beldesi sınırları içerisinde bulunmuştur. Dağpazarı Beldesi, Dağlık Kilikia'daki Koropissos antik kenti olarak lokalize edilmektedir. Bu önemli define Mersin Müze Müdürlüğü'nde bulunmakta ve 07.10.1-270 envanter numarası ile kayıtlıdır

The ceramics of centralisation and dissolution: a case study from Rough Cilicia

AbstractStarting from Kilise Tepe in the Göksu valley north of Silifke two phenomena in pre-Classical Anatolian ceramics are examined. One is the appearance at the end of the Bronze Age, or beginning of the Iron Age, of hand-made, often crude, wares decorated with red painted patterns. This is also attested in different forms at Boğazköy, and as far east as Tille on the Euphrates. In both cases it has been suggested that it may reflect the re-assertion of earlier traditions, and other instances of re-emergent ceramic styles are found at the end of the Bronze Age, both elsewhere in Anatolia and in Thessaly. The other phenomenon is the occurrence of ceramic repertoires which seem to coincide precisely with the frontiers of a polity. In Anatolia this is best recognised in the case of the later Hittite Empire. The salient characteristics of ‘Hittite’ shapes are standardised, from Boğazköy at the centre to Gordion in the west and Korucu Tepe in the east. This is often tacitly associated with Hittite political control, but how and why some kind of standardisation prevails has not often been addressed explicitly. Yet this is a recurring phenomenon, and in first millennium Anatolia similar standardised wares have been associated with both the Phrygian and the Urartian kingdoms. This paper suggests that we should associate it directly with the administrative practices of the regimes in question.

DOĞU DAĞLIK KİLİKİA'DA (OLBA BÖLGESİNDE) BULUNAN İKİ YENİ MEZAR ANITI**

The tomb monuments handled in this paper are located in the Olba region, east of Rough Cilicia. It is common for the tomb monuments which are named as D1 and D2 that they have a prostylos plan. Architrave and frieze are worked out of the same block and the upper construction elements show parallelities to each other. Both possess pediments. Besides there similarities, differences between the two tombs are obvious: The capitals of the columns of D1 are Ionic, those of D2 are Doric. D1 has a burial chamber constructed of carved stones. On the other hand the burial chamber of D2 is carved out of the main rock and has the cha­racteristics of a rock-cut tomb. The D1 tomb has a gable roof and a pediment. The roof of this tomb consists of plain blocks streched from one arch to the other. Over these blocks rest the gable formed roof blocks. Therefore this monument is a temple tomb in all its details. Furthermore the burial chamber shows the typical decoration of a temple tomb. By D2 the pediment was intended only for the front part and seems not to have a gable behind. D2 just imitates monumental tombs, itself being a rock-cut tomb. One of the most important criteria for the dating of the tombs are the Ionic capitals of D1. The par­allels for these capitals in Anatolia are dated between the late 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The other tombs with Ionic capitals in the Olba region are also dated to the same period. Two of these are the temple tombs in Imbriogon Kome with Ionic capitals on the lower columns. The roof co­nstruction of these temple tombs stand also with their roof construction close to tomb D1. The third tomb with Ionic capital is a rock-cut tomb and should not be dated earlier than the 2nd century AD. The given facts point to early 3rd century AD for D1. It is possible to offer the same date also for D2 because of the similarities.

OLBA BÖLGESİ ve BÖLGEDE KULLANILAN POLYGONAL DUVAR TEKNİĞİ

The first tendencies of epigraphy and art in Greek manner appear during the Hellenistic period vvithin the Olbian priesterly dynasty in eastern Rough Cilicia. Furthermore a Greacization has taken place in the culture of the region. The effects of this time period which can be defincd as acculturation can be observed best on religious platforms. As a result of syncretizm, gods of Luwian origin werc Gracesized and the effects of the changes left important traces, not only in epigraphy or artifacts but also in cultural and social sphercs. For example the Olbian symbols which are the products of this period are the attributes of Greek gods and can be presented as one of the best cvidences of this influencc. It is also obvious that during this period the architectural characteristics of the Olba region changed radically. In the region vvhere no monumental architectural existed until the 3rd century B.C., a construction period started through the middle of the 3rd century B.C. and flourished in the 2nd century B.C. These dates coincide with the important changes observed in epigraphical, social and cultural sphercs as well as in art. The most chracteristic feature of this construction period is that the technique of polygonal vvalls found its way to Olba and started to be used dominantly. Especially the development considering epigraphy, art as well as social and cultural activities which appeared as a result of Graecization makc us think that also the architectural development followed the same way. This situation must be the product of a power, vvilling to settle the Greek culture in Olba and of a systematical planning. This povver was one of the most important kingdoms of the Hellenistic period, namely the Selcucids and the system they applied was the policy of acculturation. Thcre is a historical parallelity between the frequency of epigraphic and architectural material in this region and the event of 188 B.C. as the vvestern bordcr of the Seleucids was defined as Seleucia. It is obvious that there is a combination between these facts and that the acculturation policy of the Seleucids in Olba gained power during this period. The introduction of the polygonal wall technique and its application on civil and military architecture must be considered as a part of this policy. The settlements vvhich are not far from each other are small but posess strong fortification vvalls and the walls of these constructions within these settlements are built in polygonal technique. Duc to the diffcrent topographical features these settlements have various plans but considered as a vvhole it appears that they are part of an organised settlement and defense system. Constructions of various aims show local characteristics. Hellenistic tombs, temples and towers, built closc to the settlements, reflect the architectural character of the region. Other struetures such as fortification vvalls, their towers, bastions and houses are the buildings mostly attested within the settlements. It is a common feature that they are ali built in the polygonal technique. The defense system consists of independent towers and settlements with grandiose defense vvalls. This system is set on the shore and continued in north-south direetion along vallics and roads so that ali the region is taken under safety. The polygonal vvalls are divided into two main groups according to their contours and surfaces. There are also subgroups and these are categorized due to constructions and settlements vvhich are mostly part of the defence system. But the survcys have shown that a certain type of polygonal wall did not represent a certain architectural class (military, rcligious, civil architectural examples or graves) and that in each architectural class more than one type of contour or surface working was applied. It is also obvious that there is no chronological development between the types of polygonal walls which differ in themselves. Furthermore the polygonal walls vvhich can be dated to the Hcllenistic period do not have a Standard quality and the quality differs due to the economic, geographic, strategic or hierarchic instances. Until new discoveries are made, it is possible to suggest that the defense system with its tonibs, civil and religious architecture is to be dated to the begining of the 2nd century B.C. and that it continued until the last quartcr of the 2nd century B.C. or the last quarter of the 2nd ccntury. Actually the construction of polygonal technique continued after the Hellenistic period but with a continious decline in its quality. Independent from the improvement and settled politics of the Hellenistic period, the polygonal tcchnique even continued during the period of Early Christianity but vvithout any systcmatic and it is usually represented by single examples.

Possible amphora kiln sites in W Rough Cilicia

Possible amphora kiln sites in W Rough Cilicia

Nephelis: a recently discovered town of coastal Rough Cilicia

An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.

Tarkasnawa King of Mira ‘Tarkondemos’, Boǧazköy sealings and Karabel

The historical geography of Anatolia in the period sourced by the Boǧazköy texts (Middle-Late Bronze Age) has proved an on-going problem since they first became available, and nowhere was this more acutely felt than in southern and western Anatolia, generally acknowledged as the site of the Arzawa lands, also probably the Lukka lands. A major advance has been registered since the mid-1980s, with the publication and interpretation of the Hieroglyphic inscription of Tudhaliya IV from Yalburt, and the Cuneiform treaty on the Bronze Tablet of the same king. These two documents have established that the later territory of Rough Cilicia constituted the Late Bronze Age kingdom of Tarhuntassa with its western border at Perge in Pamphylia, and that the Lukka lands did indeed occupy all of (or more than) classical Lycia in the south-west. These recognitions, by establishing the geography of the south and south-west, correspondingly reduced the areas of uncertainty in the west.In 1997 I was fortunately able to establish the reading of the Hieroglyphic inscription attached to the long-known Karabel relief, which lies inland from Izmir in a pass across the Tmolos range between Ephesos and Sardis. This can be shown to give the name of Tarkasnawa, King of Mira, and those of his father and grandfather, also kings of Mira but with names of uncertain reading. This is the same king known from his silver seal (referred to as ‘Tarkondemos' from an early and incorrect identification), and impressions of other seals of his have more recently been found at Boǧazköy. Clearly he was an important historical figure.

The Links between the Coastal Cities of Western Rough Cilicia and the Interior during the Roman Period

The Links between the Coastal Cities of Western Rough Cilicia and the Interior during the Roman Period

Matronianus,Comes Isauriae: an Inscription from an Early Byzantine Basilica at Yanıkhan, Rough Cilicia

The ruins at Yanıkhan form the remains of a Late Roman village in the interior of Rough Cilicia some 8 kilometres inland from the village of Limonlu on the road to Canbazlı (see Fig. 1). The site has not been frequently visited by scholars, and the first certain reference to its existence was made by the late Professor Michael Gough after his visit on 2 September 1959. Yanıkhan is now occupied only by the Yürüks who for years have wintered on the southern slopes of Sandal Dağ. The ancient settlement at Yanıkhan consisted of a village covering several acres. The remains are still extensive, and some, especially the North Basilica, are very well preserved, but there has been considerable disturbance in recent years as stone and rubble have been removed in order to create small arable clearings. The visible remains include many domestic buildings constructed both from polygonal masonry without mortar and from mortar and rubble with coursed smallstone facing. There are several underground cisterns and a range of olive presses. The countryside around the settlement has been terraced for agricultural purposes in antiquity, and is, like the settlement itself, densely covered with scrub oak and wild olive trees. The most impressive remains are those of the two basilical churches which are of little artistic pretension, but considerable architectural interest. The inscription which forms the substance of this article was found on the lintel block of the main west entrance of the South Basilica.