The Lycia Project

Fifty-four settlement sites were discovered between the 1989-1997field seasons. These sites were recorded as "rural settlements". Previous scholarship has proceeded from the opinion that rustic or "ruralsettlements" occupy an area defined by a minimum of three houses, or morecommmonly, anywhere between ten to twenty houses. These houses are in turn setapart from neighboring habitation structures at intervals based on a callingdistance which, according to modern settlement geography, does not exceed 150 m.
Our investigations in the surrounding landscape of Kyaneai have thus farproduced evidence for two different types of rural settlements:

Type 1: Settlement LX of Karagöl Sarnici

The settlements belonging to the first type, unlike those of the second type, appear to be more compact and to stretch across the rocky summits and slopes ofhills. Buildings of the Type 1 settlement consist in part of rooms whichincorporate portions of the existing natural rock in their structure. Thesebuildings reveal a compact appearance due to the agglutinizing placement of therooms and therefore also give a fortified impression, a feature which is notevident in buildings of the second settlement type.

Type 2: Settlement XLII in the Plain of Büyük Avsar

This second settlement type is characterized usually by a loosely grouped series ofbuildings constructed around tower farms erected during the Hellenistic periodor around older farmsteads. This scattered settlement construction can be foundeither on the side of a flat hill or in a plain without the benefit of afortification or geographically defensible position. In general, thesesettlements possess one or two churches located often at the periphery. Afertile plain is almost always to be found at the base of the settlement slopes.

In order to accomodate variations, these two main types canbe further subdivided into specific categories. Settlement sites exist, forexample, based on a loosely organized building scheme, but which are not groupedaround a tower farmstead or another decidedly older farmstead structure.Furthermore, settlements have been recorded which are perhaps better describedas hybrid forms.

Churches

With the exception of the churches, no other public buildings appear to have existed within the rural settlements. The churches are for the most part small, possessing one aisle anda semi-circular apse on the northeast side. The majority of churches in theterritory surrounding Kyaneai are oriented to the northeast. Most of thechurches in the Kyaneai territory are oriented to the northeast. The entrancesare located on the southwest or west side. Three settlements contain large,three-aisled churches which possess basilica-type features. In the case of somesettlements, the question remains unclear whether we are dealing with a churchor monastery.

Dwelling Houses

Thosebuildings within the settlement which are neither associated with agriculturalcomplexes nor with olive/wine press facilities have been identified ashabitation structures. These houses have been provisionally divided into fourgroups. Not surprisingly, these four groups do not provide a canonical schemeb y which all house forms can be neatly compartmentalized. Rather, as with allmulti-functional structures, the settlement houses exhibit minor variations.
The first type consists of a complex of rooms constructed in an adjoining seriesof rows and is situated on terraced slopes. The existing natural rock is oftenincorporated into the house structure.
Buildings belonging to asecond type are usually found scattered across the entire settlement area in theform of single room constructions. These single room buildings are frequentlyidentified as habitations, but they could also have functioned as stables oranimal pens.
The third and most numerous type is defined by rectangular shapedbuildings possessing between two and four rooms. These buildings often consistsolely of an anteroom and a main room. The main room as well as any other siderooms can usually be entered only through the anteroom. Doors can be found onboth the long and short sides of individual rooms. This third house type is alsosometimes distinguished by a form of courtyard area located in front of thebuilding.
In the case of the fourth and final type, room complexesexist which reveal a certain closed character by having rooms grouped around acourtyard. Examples of this fourth house type are found more frequently inplains than on hill slopes. The central complex essentially consists of fourrooms opening out on a courtyard. Ancillary buildings, which probably served aswork or production areas, are often found adjoining the courtyard.

Bibliography:

1. A. Thomsen, Die ländlichen Siedlungen in: F. Kolb (Hg.), Lykische Studien 1 (Asia Minor Studien 9), Bonn 1993, 39-51
2. I. Akyel, The Settlement on Cuma Tepesi, ebenda 53-55
3. A. Thomsen, Ländliche Siedlungen im Umland von Kyaneai, in: F. Kolb (Hg.), Lykische Studien 2 (Asia Minor Studien 18), Bonn 1995, 57-68
4. A. Thomsen, Ländliche Siedlungen in: F. Kolb (Hg.), Lykische Studien 3 (Asia Minor Studien 24), Bonn 1996, 71-82
5. A. Sanli, Ländliche Siedlungen in: F. Kolb (Hg.), Lykische Studien 4 (Asia Minor Studien 29), Bonn 1998, 55-69
6. A. Sanli, Ländliche Siedlungen in: F. Kolb (Hg.). Lykische Studien 5 (Asia Minor Studien 41), Bonn 2000, 41-57
7. A. Sanli, Ländliche Siedlungen in: F. Kolb (Hg.), Lykische Studien 6 (Asia Minor Studien 48), Bonn 2003, 45-65
8. A. Sanli, Kleine ländliche Siedlungen auf dem Gebiet von Kyaneai in: F. Kolb (Hg.), Chora und Polis (im Druck)
9. Aysun Sanli-Erler, Bauern in der Polis: ländliche Siedlungen und agrarische Wirtschaftsformen im zentrallykischen Yavu-Bergland (Tübinger Althistorische Studien 1), Bonn 2006