Gömeç Tower
Coordinates: 36 ° 29 ′ 25 ″ N , 34 ° 8 ′ 8 ″ E
The Tower of Gömeç ( Turkish Gömeç Kalesi , Castle of Gömeç ) is an ancient watchtower in the Rough Cilicia in southern Turkey .
location
The Watchtower is in the district of Erdemli province Mersin , about three kilometers north of Kızkalesi and 20 kilometers southwest of Erdemli. It lies with the surrounding wall remains at a height of 240 meters in the mountainous hinterland of Kızkalesi, the ancient Korykos , on a road that leads from there on the east side of the valley Şeytan Deresi , past the rock tombs of Adamkayalar and the remains of the settlement of Demirciören and Hıdırlı , via Hüseyinler to Cambazlı and on to Uzuncaburç , the ancient Olba . About 500 meters away in the southwest is the older tower of Gücük , two kilometers southeast of the tower of Sarayın and three kilometers southwest of the tower of Akkum . The series ends about four kilometers southwest with the Tower of Boyan .
description
The tower, which is almost completely preserved in the masonry, is 11.32 meters high and has a lower base area of approximately 4.70 × 4.70 meters, which tapers up to approximately 4.20 × 4.20 meters. It is built from blocks without mortar using the pseudo-isodomeric technique, which means that the stones are the same size within the layers, but can be different in different layers. The height of the stones varies between 80 and 30 centimeters. On the south side is the door on the right with dimensions of 1.90 × 0.96 meters. Above that, a row of 13 beam holes can be seen on the outside, which, in a later phase of use, were used to build an arbor. On the first floor (of four) a very inconspicuously closed window can be seen, on the second a slit window and on the third a square window with a side length of about 85 centimeters. The west and east walls each have a window on the third floor, which was later walled up with small rubble stones. In the west there is still a slit window on the first floor, the north side has no opening.
The door opened to the right inside, there you can see the place for the anchor iron and below the fishing pan (the pivot point of the door hinge). It was to be locked from the inside with bars and two bolts and from the outside with a bolt. Inside, beam holes for four floors can be seen on the walls, the lowest directly above the lintel. On the first, third and fourth floors, the beams ran from north to south, on the second from east to west. The top floor was the battle platform, which was surrounded by two layers of stone and the battlements . These are still almost completely present, with some of the saddle-shaped upper ends still being preserved in situ .
In the vicinity of the tower you can see the remains of walls from various buildings, including an oil press.
Towers in the rough Cilicia
In the Rough Cilicia, especially in the area between the rivers Kalykadnos, today Göksu , and Lamos, today Limonlu , there are numerous towers from the late Hellenistic period to the Roman Empire . Partly free-standing, partly built into settlements and fortifications, the function as a watchtower is common to all. They were used to defend against attacks, mainly by pirates who settled here after the rule of the area in the 2nd century BC. Passed from the Seleucids to the Romans . Five free-standing towers (Akkum, Boyan, Gömeç, Sarayın and Yalama) in isodomic construction are grouped around Korykos and Elaiussa Sebaste, which alternated as the metropolis of the region around the turn of the millennium . They also have a living and storage function. Food such as grain could be stored in the lower, lightless floors, and they also served as a retreat for the residents of the surrounding area. Archers could defend them from the top, crenellated platforms. Due to the similar design and the fact that they were three to five kilometers apart, they can be viewed as a group that belongs together with a watchful and signaling character. Their probable time of origin is limited by the end of the Seleucid rule in 133 BC. BC, the defeat of the pirates in 65 BC. By Pompey and the latest date in AD 74 when the area became a Roman province.
Door with beam holes from the outside
West wall inside with beam holes
Door from the inside
Door locks
Web links
literature
- Josef Keil , Adolf Wilhelm : Monuments from the rough Cilicia , (= MAMA 3), Manchester 1931, pp. 119–120 T. 45 Fig. 146
- Serra Durugönül : towers and settlements in the Rough Cilicia. Asia Minor Studies Volume 28. Rudolf Habelt, Bonn 1998 ISBN 3-7749-2840-1 pp. 66–74