Kaunos Temple of Demeter and Rock Tombs Terrace
Kaunos Demeter Tapınağı · Kaunos Demeter Terrace · Dalyan Kaunos
Classical to Roman (Carian to Lycian)·Carian, Lycian, Hellenistic Rhodian·🇹🇷 Muğla Province, Ortaca, Dalyan, Kaunos acropolis west terrace, Turkey
About
About Kaunos Temple of Demeter and Rock Tombs Terrace
West terrace of Kaunos (Kbid), the Carian-Lycian border city on the Dalyan River delta opposite the famous rock tombs, 8 km inland from the sea. Founded 10th c. BCE as Kaunos son of Miletus, the Demeter terrace (4th BCE–2nd CE) is a 120-m retaining wall sanctuary with altar, bothroi and Hellenistic stoas flanking the theatre-acropolis saddle. Below, 6 temple-form rock-cut tombs (4th–2nd BCE) imitate Lycian wooden architecture with Ionic façades, paralleling Amyntas but smaller. French-Turkish C. Işık excavations 1966–; UNESCO Tentative 2014 (Kaunos). Demonstrates Kaunian bilingual (Carian-Greek) cult survival under Rhodian, Pergamene and Roman rule. Boat from Dalyan only.
Why it mattersCarian-Lycian cultural frontier with bilingual inscriptions and Demeter cult, key for Anatolian ethnogenesis.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Kaunian language affiliation
- 02Malaria abandonment timing
Theories
- 01Delta port-town cult of maritime Demeter
- 02Rhodian peraea border marking
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.400 BCE terrace; tombs 360–150 BCE
- Period
- Classical to Roman (Carian to Lycian)
- Culture
- Carian, Lycian, Hellenistic Rhodian
- Builders
- Kaunian city demos and Carian dynasts
- Purpose
- Acropolis Demeter cult controlling Dalyan delta and timber trade to Egypt
- Abandoned
- c.1300 CE malarial siltation
- Rediscovered
- 1842 Hoskyn; 1966 Işık excavations
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
400 BCE
Demeter terrace built
1966
Işık excavation start
2014
UNESCO Tentative Kaunos
On the ground
Structures & features
36.8240° N · 28.6220° E · 85 m · 2 mapped features
Kaunos — Demeter Temple Platform
temple terrace4th-century BCE terrace with Demeter sanctuary, altar and votive bothroi
36.8250° N · 28.6230° EKaunos — Lycian Rock Tombs Façade Gallery
rock tomb6 temple-type rock-cut tombs in cliff above Demeter terrace, 4th–2nd BCE
36.8230° N · 28.6210° E