The Dandalaz (Ancient Morsynos) Valley is one of the few valleys connected to the central part of the Büyük Menderes Basin from the south. Located in the northern part of the Ancient Caria Region, the Dandalaz Valley is both geographically important as a natural road line and rich in cultural potential. Located in the transition zone of Carian, Lydian and Phrygian cultures, the valley is home to two important Roman cities, Aphrodisias and Menderes Antioch. On the other hand, the immediate surroundings of the valley are also rich in Ancient Period settlements. Birioula in the north, Apollonia Salbake in the south, Gordiouteikhos and Plarasa in the southwest can be counted among them. Having such strong settlements in the last phases of Antiquity, the Dandalaz Valley also hosts a significant cultural accumulation in the first half of the 1st millennium BC. Although the splendor of the settlements that dominated the region during the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods overshadowed the early cultural accumulation of the region, even the few findings found on the surface are extremely remarkable. As one of the most important cities of the valley, only Aphrodisias has been analyzed for Early Antiquity data. For this reason, this study, which will fill an important gap in terms of covering findings from many data areas identified in the region in addition to Aphrodisias data, introduces and evaluates the findings belonging to the Late Bronze Age and first half of the 1st Millennium BC, in other words, the Iron Age, in the Dandalaz Valley and its immediate vicinity. The field data are based on the notes taken by the author during the field surveys, identification and registration work carried out during his years at the Aphrodisias Museum. The few findings obtained from the fieldwork carried out within the framework of limited possibilities aim to announce the cultural potential of the Dandalaz Valley in this period to the scientific world and to pioneer more detailed systematic research.
Büyük Menderes Havzası’nın orta bölümüne güneyden bağlanan birkaç vadiden biri de Dandalaz (Antik Morsynos) Vadisi’dir. Antik Karia Bölgesi’nin kuzey kesiminde yer alan Dandalaz Vadisi hem coğrafi açıdan önemli bir doğal yol hattı olma özelliğine sahiptir hem de kültür potansiyeli açısından zengindir. Karia, Lydia ve Phrygia kültürlerinin geçiş bölgesinde yer alan vadide Aphrodisias ve Menderes Antiokheiası iki önemli Roma Dönemi kenti yer almaktadır. Öte yandan vadinin yakın çevresi de Antik Dönem yerleşimleri açısından zengindir. Kuzeyde Birioula, güneyde Apollonia Salbake ve güneybatıda Gordiouteikhos ile Plarasa bunlar arasında sayılabilir. Antik Çağ’ın son evrelerinde bu derece güçlü yerleşimlere sahip olan Dandalaz Vadisi MÖ 1. binyılın ilk yarısında da önemli ölçüde bir kültürel birikime ev sahipliği yapar. Hellenistik, Roma ve Bizans dönemlerinde bölgeye hakim olan yerleşimlerin görkemi yörenin erken dönem kültür birikimini gölgede bırakmış olsa da, yüzeyde tespit edilen az sayıdaki bulgu bile son derece dikkat çekicidir. Geç Tunç Çağı ve MÖ. erken 1. binyıl verileri, vadinin en önemli kentlerinden biri olarak sadece Aphrodisias’ta incelenmiştir. Bu sebeple, Aphrodisias verileri yanında yörede tanımlanmış birçok veri alanından bulguyu konu edinmesi açısından önemli bir eksikliği dolduracak olan bu çalışmada Dandalaz Vadisi ve yakın çevresinde Geç Tunç Çağı ve MÖ. 1. binyılın ilk yarısına, bir başka deyişle Demir Çağı’na ait bulgular tanıtılarak bir değerlendirme yapılmaktadır. Saha verileri yazarın Aphrodisias Müzesi’nde görev yaptığı yıllarda gerçekleştirdiği saha araştırmaları, tespit ve tescil çalışmaları sürecinde aldığı notlara dayanmaktadır. Sınırlı olanaklar çerçevesinde yürütülen saha çalışmalarından elde edilen az sayıdaki bulgu Dandalaz Vadisi’nin bu dönemdeki kültür potansiyelini bilim dünyasına duyurmayı ve daha detaylı sistematik araştırmalara öncülük etmeyi hedeflemektedir.
Primary Language | Turkish |
---|---|
Subjects | Archaeological Science |
Journal Section | Research Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | June 30, 2025 |
Submission Date | October 9, 2024 |
Acceptance Date | February 21, 2025 |
Published in Issue | Year 2025 Issue: 36 |
Publisher
Vedat Dalokay Caddesi No: 112 Çankaya 06670 ANKARA
TÜBA-AR Turkish Academy of Sciences Journal of Archaeology (TÜBA-AR) does not officially endorse the views expressed in the articles published in the journal, nor does it guarantee any product or service advertisements that may appear in the print or online versions. The scientific and legal responsibility for the published articles belongs solely to the authors.
Images, figures, tables, and other materials submitted with manuscripts must be original. If previously published, written permission from the copyright holder must be provided for reproduction in both print and online versions. Authors retain the copyright of their works; however, upon publication in the journal, the economic rights and rights of public communication -including adaptation, reproduction, representation, printing, publishing, and distribution rights- are transferred to the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA), the publisher of the journal. Copyright of all published content (text and visual materials) belongs to the journal in terms of usage and distribution. No payment is made to the authors under the name of copyright or any other title, and no article processing charges are requested. However, the cost of reprints, if requested, is the responsibility of the authors.
In order to promote global open access to scientific knowledge and research, TÜBA allows all content published online (unless otherwise stated) to be freely used by readers, researchers, and institutions. Such use (including linking, downloading, distribution, printing, copying, or reproduction in any medium) is permitted under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License, provided that the original work is properly cited, not modified, and not used for commercial purposes. For permission regarding commercial use, please contact the publisher.