The Lycia Project

In the vicinity of the Turkish town of Tüse are the remains of a stronghold (above, left) and a settlement, whose occupationcan be traced back to the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. During the Classical period, the stronghold was constructed within a walled acropolis area andthe settlement was established inside an enclosure wall on the mountainslope. The political importance of the site during the Late Archaic andClassical periods is illustrated by the various chamber tombs and tumuli discovered there and also by the presence of three pillar graves and aheroon, two features especially associated with a Dynast´s residence.The reliefs found at Tüse can be dated to the second half of the sixth century B.C. and reveal distinct Greek and Persian influences (above, right: a lion slaying a wild goat; bottom, left: a banquet scene showing a servantstanding before banqueters). In addition, a temple structure located near the Tüse stronghold can be dated to the middle of the fifth century B.C. (bottom, right) and further suggests that the rulers residing at Tüsewere familiar with the artistic and cultural currents of the times.

During the Hellenistic period, Tüse became a ruralcommunity within the Kyaneai polis territory. The stronghold was then usedas a fortified border outpost. Habitation within the settlement on theslope continued. In the Roman era, the residential center increasinglyshifted to the edges of the small plain at the base of Düzkale Tepesi.The small number of associated sarcophagi seems to underscore the reducedimportance of Tüse.

The settlement in the plain expanded during the LateAntique and Byzantine periods and a small church was constructed on a hillalong the margin of the plain northwest of Tüse. It is likely that the settlement here was abandoned, as elsewhere in the Yavu mountain region,at the beginning of the fourteenth century A.D. Settlement began to take root again later during the nineteenth century.

Bibliography:

1. K. Geppert, Zwei archaische Grabpfeilerreliefs mit Löwendarstellung aus Tüse, in: F. Kolb (Hg.). Lykische Studien 2 (Asia Minor Studien 18), Bonn 1995, 173-177
2. K. Großschmidt, Die menschlichen Skelettreste aus Gräbern von Tüse - Leichenbrände und Erdbestattungen, ebenda 183-192
3. V. Höhfeld, Der Höhenzug von Tüse als Siedlungsraum. Skizzen einer Kulturlandschaft, ebenda 109-117
4. I. Akyel / F, Kolb, The Settlement on Düzkale Tepesi andits tombs, ebenda 119-150
5. F. Kolb, Zur Siedlungsgeschichte von Tüse, ebenda 193-203
6. Th. Marksteiner, Die lykische Burg von Tüse, ebenda 151-166
7. M. Miller, Das Kammergrab am Südtor von Tüse, ebenda 167-171
8. G. Neumann, Zwei lykische Inschriften aus Tüse, ebenda 179-182
9. K. Geppert, Das Heroon von Tüse, in: F. Kolb (Hg.), Lykische Studien 4 (Asia Minor Studien 29), Bonn 1998, 207-214
10. K. Geppert, Das reliefverzierte Pfeilergrab in Tüse, ebenda, 215-224