Institute of Ancient History

The Lycia Project

Farmsteads in the Yavu Mountain Region

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Isolated farmsteads

Isolated farmsteads as a form of rural settlement haveoccupied a place in historical-archaeological research since the 1950´s.Initial studies of these settlements reflected the difficulties involvedwith defining the &Quot;farm" building type a! nd thus focused on the documentationand presentation of a selective, well-preserved sample of farm complexes.The investigation of settlements and the methodology associated with analyzingthe rural landscape came to the foreground first with the establishmentof extensive and intensive field research, or "surveys", such as thoseinitiated by Anglo-Saxon scholars during the 1970´s. Due to the limitednature of the ancient sources, questions regarding the settlement structurewithin the territory (chora) of ancient communities and the forms and patternsof these rural settlements require a strong foundation of evidence collected as a result of intensive, systematic surveys.

The goal of the Lycia Project research in the Yavu mountain region, which for the most part corresponds to the territorial boundariesof the Central Lycian polis of Kyaneai, is to reconstruct the settlementstructure and history of a defined settlement area from the Archaic through Byzantine periods. In this effort, the first stage of investigation consists of the recording and analysis of all settlement remains visible on the surface. Outside of the major settlement centers and small townor hamlet-sized settlements, approximately 60 so-called tower farmsteadsand 430 isolated farms have been documented in a 106 sq.km. area sincethe 1997 field season. These rural estates are often associated with gravesites (tumulus burials, chamber tombsof various types, sarcophagi), agricultural and livestock installations(extensive terracing, presses and mills, cisterns and troughs, internaland external animal enclosures). The graves located nearby attest to the residential function of the farmsteads; the agricultural and pastoral structuresunderscore the economic basis of the farmsteads.

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Farmsteads without tower

Farmsteads without a tower structure represent by farthe majority of recorded isolated farms in our Project study area. Thisparticular type is characterized by a broad spectrum which varies fromone and two room small farmhouses to large, multi-building estates. Theselarge estates are composed of such features as main and ancillary buildings,agricultural related structures, and animal pens.

 

Tower farmsteads

At the top of the hierarchy of isolated farmsteads are the so-called tower farmsteads, a form of rural settlement known above all from the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea region. Most of thetower farms are composed of the following elements: a central, multi-functional tower (with living quarters, work areas, stalls on the first floor, or storage areas), ancillary buildings, and a wall-enclosed courtyard. The usually large-scale masonry of the tower structure points to the increasing representational character of the estate. Our research has revealed, contrary to previous viewpoints, that the settlement and building type-"tower farmstead"-existed in Lycia already in pre-Hellenistic times. In terms of building typology, the tower farm also seems to be modelled architecturally on theDynast residences of the Classical period. A uniform building typology exists starting in the Hellenistic period for tower farmsteads which appears to encompass the entire eastern Mediterranean (the Greek Mainland, Aegean Islands, and Asia Minor). Some differences, however, between the Classical and Hellenistic tower farms can be observed especially with respect tothe selection of the building site. Classical tower farmsteads, like those strongholds of the Dynastic period, usually are located on a defensible mountain summit. Hellenistic tower farms are found often on mountain slopes near agricultural land or on easily accessible low hills above fertile plains.In a few cases, Hellenistic tower farms were constructed directly adjacent to the land being farmed in the fertile plains. Inscriptions and archaeological evidence verify the continuation of this settlement form into the Roman Imperial period.

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Bibliography:

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