Meydancık Castle

36.27333333.441111Koordinaten: 36 ° 16 ' 24 "N, 33 ° 26' 28" E

Meydancıkkale (or Meydancık Kalesi ) is the Turkish name of a location on a ship -shaped mountain at 700 m height mounting ten kilometers south of the town Gülnar and about 40 km west of Silifke in the Turkish province of Mersin in Cilicia Rauen.

Name and history

Found on site Aramaic inscriptions of the Persian period testify KRS as ancient name of the fortress. Due to the name of Relatives of the place is possibly identical with the aforementioned in a Neo-Babylonian Chronicle Kiršu. Here it is reported for the year 557/6 BC by a campaign of the Babylonian king Nergal - Sarra - usur against the king of Appuašu Pirindu in Cilicia. Here, the ancient capital Kiršu is mentioned, which had been moved to Ura, and was destroyed by the Babylonians.

According to archaeological traces of the place was inhabited BC since the late 7th century. In the Achaemenid Empire, he became the seat of a Persian governor, who built a palace here. In Hellenistic times it changed hands several times owners and function. Even early Christian and Byzantine Terms are occupied.

Research

Excavations by Emmanuel Laroche in the years 1971 to 1982 promoted a heavily fortified entrance to days. Likewise fortifications were found with Hellenistic conversions from the Persian period, an administration building and foundations of a monumental building from the time of Ptolemy III. , Two Achaemenid reliefs as well as on the slopes of different tombs. Furthermore, Greek inscriptions came with the name of Ptolemy and Aramaic inscriptions with the name of the city to light (on the walls, but in a grave chamber on the west side of the mountain ), and finally a major hoard of the 3rd century BC, with over 5000 silver coins. At the eastern base of the rock, a tomb from the first half of the 6th century was uncovered, before its facade were two caryatids.

The finds are exhibited partly in the Archaeological Museum of Silifke how the two caryatids and the hoard of coins.

Residential buildings

Palace foundations

Torbau

Caryatids at the Museum of Grabbaues Silifke