Sarayın Tower
Coordinates: 36 ° 29 ′ 4 ″ N , 34 ° 9 ′ 18 ″ E
The Sarayın Tower is an ancient watchtower in Rough Cilicia .
location
The tower is located in the Erdemli district of the Turkish province of Mersin , about three kilometers northeast of Kızkalesi , two kilometers west of Ayaş , the ancient Elaiussa Sebaste and 20 kilometers southwest of Erdemli. It is east of the road that leads north on the outskirts of Kızkalesi, the old Korykos , along the east side of the Şeytan Deresi valley , past the rock tombs of Adamkayalar and the remains of the settlements of Demirciören and Hıdırlı , via Hüseyinler to Cambazlı and on to Uzuncabur , the ancient Olba . About two kilometers northwest, also to the right of the road, are the tower of Gömeç and the older tower of Gücük , four kilometers southwest of the tower of Akkum and five kilometers southwest of the tower of Boyan .
description
The tower with the basic dimensions 4.07 × 4.14 meters is built without mortar using the pseudoisodomic masonry technique, that is, from cuboids that are of the same format within the stone layers, but can vary in size from one row to the other. In addition to the ground floor, it had three upper floors and a defense platform above it, which is surrounded by well-preserved battlements . The floors of the storeys were partly on consoles, partly on heels, on the first floor there are support holes in the north and south walls for a single beam. The ground floor has no light opening, on the next floors there are slot windows on several sides and on the third floor a window in the south wall. A similar one on the north wall was later walled up with small blocks. On the north side, water drains can be seen for the third floor and the combat platform; additional drainage slots are built in for the uncovered platform. The wet rooms on the first floor were drained to the floor level to the east via a drain system. The entrance door is in the south wall, above it a club is reliefed in the lintel. Various symbols, including the club, are attached to numerous buildings in the region, mainly on towers and lintels, they are called Olbic symbols and indicate that they belong to the priestly state of Olba .
In the vicinity of the tower are the remains of farm buildings and 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 a club
Gargoyles and walled-up window on the north side
Drainage of the wet rooms on the east side
Oil press
literature
- Serra Durugönül : towers and settlements in the Rough Cilicia. Asia Minor Studies Volume 28. Rudolf Habelt, Bonn 1998 ISBN 3-7749-2840-1 pp. 76-77, 95, 122.
