Sofraz Tumuli
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The two tumuli of Sofraz are two Roman barrows from the 2nd century in the area of the ancient kingdom of Commagene in southeastern Turkey . In contrast to other commagenic chamber graves, the grave rooms in one of them are not carved into the rock, but are made of carefully worked masonry.
Location and exploration
The two tumuli are located about three kilometers southeast of the village of Üçgöz (former name Sofraz or Sofrazköy) in the district of Besni in the Turkish province of Adıyaman . On the road coming from Besni, one kilometer after Üçgöz, a path marked with Sofraz Anıt Mezarı branches off to the southeast, which after another 1.5 kilometers leads through fields and farmland to Tumulus A. From there you can take a one-kilometer dirt road south to Tumulus B on the banks of the Sofraz Çayı River.
Based on finds from the Hellenistic and Roman times, it can be assumed that there was a larger settlement in the south of what is now Üçgöz, to which the graves can be attributed. The area belonged to the empire of Kommagene, which, however, had lost its independence by the time the burial mound was presumed to have been built and belonged to the Roman province of Syria .
The two burial mounds were explored in 1993 (Tumulus A) and 2001 (B) during rescue excavations by the Adıyaman Archaeological Museum under the direction of its director Fehmi Erarslan. The excavators found that both had already been looted by grave robbers.
In 1973 a stele was found in a well at the foot of the settlement hill , showing Antiochus I , the builder of the Hierothesion on Nemrut Dağı , with Apollo in dexiosis pose .
Tumulus A
The north of the two burial mounds ( location ) is almost completely preserved with a height of 15 and a diameter of 50 meters. On the south side a well made of limestone blocks leads down several meters vertically. Today it is accessible outside and inside via wooden stairs. From the vestibule at the bottom of the shaft, a door leads into a corridor. The door was locked with a huge block of stone that is now placed next to it. The barrel-vaulted corridor leads to the approximately 3 × 4 meter grave chamber. It also has a barrel vault that is perpendicular to the corridor. All walls are made of high quality ashlar masonry, as are the vaults made of wedge-shaped blocks. In the burial chamber there is an undecorated limestone sarcophagus on both sides . Above the right sarcophagus, a hole can be seen in the ceiling through which grave robbers have penetrated. They broke both coffin lids and looted the contents so that no more grave goods could be found during the excavations. A dating can therefore only be based on the advanced construction technology, which points to a noble builder from the Roman period of Kommagene, i.e. in the late 1st or 2nd century AD.
Started
Door block next to the inner descent
corridor
right sarcophagus with hole in the ceiling
left sarcophagus
Tumulus B
The second burial mound ( location ) is one kilometer south of it near Sofraz Çayı and is hardly recognizable as a tumulus after dredging. Here access to the burial chambers is via a staircase carved into the rock. It first leads into a central anteroom, from which rooms carved into the rock lead off on three sides. In the low side rooms there are two unadorned sarcophagi on the left and three on the right. Further fragments can be seen in the anteroom. In the middle main burial chamber there is a single coffin on a pedestal on the back wall. In this chamber, ashlar masonry on the rock walls and a barrel vault on the ceiling are imitated, so that the room is reminiscent of that of Tumulus A.
Although the grave was also haunted by grave robbers in antiquity, it shows traces of later re-use. It was always accessible through the stairs, so that some burials probably took place in late antiquity . Burial niches (loculi) can be seen in the walls of the dromos , and later finds were made during the excavations, which are now exhibited in the museum in Adıyaman.
The 2nd century is assumed for the origin of the grave.
Staircase with tombs
Anteroom, view to the outside
Left burial space, left sarcophagus
Right grave room with three sarcophagi
Sarcophagus on plinth in the main room
Imitation brickwork and barrel vault in the main room
literature
- Michael Blömer, Engelbert Winter : Commagene, The Land of Gods Between the Taurus and the Euphrates Homer Kitabevi, Istanbul 2011, ISBN 978-9944-483-35-3 , pp. 168-172.
- Herman Brijder: Nemrud Dağı: Recent Archaeological Research and Preservation and Restoration Activities in the Tomb Sanctuary on Mount Nemrud. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2014, ISBN 978-1-61451-622-4 , pp. 219–222.
