The Halikarnassos peninsula has a particular significance in the geography of ancient Karia. This prominent place relates to the idea that the peninsula was the land of the Lelegians who are described in various documents as the ancestors... more
The Halikarnassos peninsula has a particular significance in the geography of ancient Karia. This prominent place relates to the idea that the peninsula was the land of the Lelegians who are described in various documents as the ancestors of the Karians. Research on Lelegian society and the identity of those people was initiated by the first explorers of the peninsula nearly two centuries ago. Following the long-term surface studies carried out in the peninsula by Wolfgang Radt in the 1970’s, we also conducted comprehensive excavations in Pedasa as well as rescue excavations in Termera which gave us the opportunity to review the basic issues of the early archaeology of the peninsula. The following article aims to present the results of our research conducted through long-term surveys and rescue excavations carried out in Termera and other sites of the peninsula, which should help to shed some light on the Lelegians and their settlement patterns.
Settlement are just like organisms; they are born, they grow, expand and slowly shrink and die. This is both adaptation and transformation process of the settlement. This process usually takes thousands of years. However we perceive a... more
Settlement are just like organisms; they are born, they grow, expand and slowly shrink and die. This is both adaptation and transformation process of the settlement. This process usually takes thousands of years. However we perceive a single picture frame in its latest form. It is not possible to view this picture as if rewinding a film. That is why we encounter problem in interpreting the characteritics that make and develop a city a a whole.
Abstract: Pedasa on the Halikarnassian peninsula is one of the important sites of ancient Caria and it is the only excavated site of the so-called Lelegian settlements. A bowl shaped cavity in the bedrock spur at rear back corner in the... more
Abstract: Pedasa on the Halikarnassian peninsula is one of the important sites of ancient Caria and it is the only excavated site of the so-called Lelegian settlements. A bowl shaped cavity in the bedrock spur at rear back corner in the corridor of the south gate of the acropolis fortifications of Pedasa was published as a cultic bowl. However, when one looks at the general arrangement of the gate and compares with parallel examples, one can conclude it is not a cultic bowl. Fortification gates with a corridor became common in the Classical period with the intention of reducing the number of attackers in front of the doors, to create a killing zone in front of the door for the defenders. All the parallel examples were closed at the rear by heavy two leaf wooden doors that opened inwards. The Pedasa south gate with corridor is one of the earlier examples of this type, and in this context it can be easily understood that the bowl shaped cavity cut in the bedrock spur at rear back corner was the pivot-socket for one of the two wooden doorposts, that of the 2 m wide west leaf of the two leaf wooden door.
Öz: Halikarnassos yarımadasında yer alan Pedasa, antik Karia Bölgesi’nin önemli yerleşimlerinden birisidir ve Leleg halkıyla bağdaştırılan yerleşimler arasında kazısı yapılan tek merkezdir. Pedasa akropolis suru koridorlu güney geçidinde kazılar sonucunda açığa çıkartı- lan anakaya düzlemindeki kâse formlu bir düzenleme sunu çanağı olarak yayınlanmıştır. Bununla birlikte ge- çidin genel düzenlemesine bakıldığında ve özellikle de paralel örneklerle karşılaştırmalar yapıldığında bu oyu- ğun bir sunu çanağı olmadığı görülmektedir. Klasik Dö- nem’de oldukça yaygınlaşan koridorlu sur geçitleri düş- manın dar bir alanda az sayıda kişiyle saldırmasını ve bu sayede savunmacıların saldıran düşmanı kolaylıkla bertaraf etmelerini amaçlamaktadır. Mevcut örneklere bakıldığında koridorlu geçitlerin iç bitimlerinde içe açılan çift kanatlı ahşap kapılarla kapanmış oldukları görülmektedir. Bu düzenlemenin erken örneklerinden birisi olan Pedasa Güney Kapısı koridorlu sur geçit dü- zenlemesinin iç batı köşesinde yürüme düzleminde yer alan bu yuvanın da çift kanatlı ahşap sur kapısının yaklaşık 2 m genişliğindeki batı kanadını taşıyan kapı direğinin dönüş yuvası olarak biçimlendirilmiş olduğu anlaşılmaktadır.
Ancient Coin Commemorates Trojan War’s Kilikian King Eëtion? Robert M. Cutler, 2016 Abstract: Ancient Roman provincial coins long described as a possible first-century BCE issue of Pontos are considered further. The coins appear to be... more
Ancient Coin Commemorates Trojan War’s Kilikian King Eëtion? Robert M. Cutler, 2016 Abstract: Ancient Roman provincial coins long described as a possible first-century BCE issue of Pontos are considered further. The coins appear to be inscribed EETIA, possibly preserving the Latinized name of legendary King Eëtion of the Kilikians as applied to his people and their progeny, or to a festival or other observance in his honor. Eëtion was the father of the exemplary Princess Andromache and father-in-law of Troy’s valiant Prince Hektor. Both men were killed during the Trojan War by the Greek hero Achilles, as Homer relates in the Iliad. EETIA coins do not appear to be from the area of Eëtion’s Thebe, but elsewhere in Anatolia, probably either along its north or southeast coast. If the northeast is correct, the coins may be from provincial Bithynia or Pontos. If the southeast is correct, the coin may be from the area of historical Kilikia and its reverse design could refer to the legendary soothsayers Mopsos and Kalchas. The coin issue, wherever it was minted, may be the only one that explicitly memorializes Eëtion, though it was not issued until some twelve centuries after his supposed defeat and death, and seven centuries after Homer told his story.
