Rock-Cut Tombs and Two Lycian Inscriptions from Karabel-Çamdağı

Abstract

A survey-based project on Byzantine settlements around Alacadağ in Lycia has continued since 2014. It has aimed to identify and document late antique and medieval rural settlements located in the northern mountainous area of Demre (Myra), a town in the province of Antalya. A group of building remains were found during our fieldwork in 2020. These remains are located at forested Eşekkırığı in the Karabel district situated 17 km north of the ancient city of Myra. Its ancient ruins are scattered on the slopes and top of the hill to the southwest of the quarry located at the second kilometer of the dirt road from Karabel to Çamdağı. A small Byzantine castle sits at the top at an altitude of 1218 m. A tower and two workshops are located on the southern slope; three rock-cut tombs are on the eastern, western and northern slopes. This article aims to study the rock-cut tombs with their inscriptions. Two of the tombs bear inscriptions in the Lycian language. Both inscriptions can be dated to the second half of the fourth century BC on the basis of paleographic evaluation.