Dereağzı is a small Lycian settlement situated on a hill at the confluence of the Tokluca and Kasaba streams with the Myros River, occupying a strategically important position controlling the northern end of the Myros Valley. The settlement was first recorded in the modern period by Texier in 1836.
Although located along one of the main ancient road routes, the Lycian name of the settlement remains unknown. Unfortunately, the blocks of the Patara Road Monument, on which the name of the site would have been recorded, have not been recovered. It has been tentatively identified with the city of Mastaura, which is mentioned in Byzantine-period sources in this region.
No systematic excavation has yet been carried out at the site. Material from surface surveys indicates occupation as early as the 9th century BCE; however, the earliest identifiable architectural remains are rock-cut tombs with façades imitating Lycian wooden architecture, dating to the Dynastic period. One of these tombs bears a Lycian inscription (TL 80). Most of the remains on the acropolis date to the Byzantine period.
In addition to the tombs, another Lycian-period feature is a rock relief located near the castle gate, depicting a bull sacrifice scene.
References:
Çevik, N. 2021. Lykia Kitabı: Arkeolojisi, Tarihi ve Kültürüyle Batı Antalya, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara.
Morganstern, J. 1993. “The Settlement at Dereağzı: An Introduction to the History of the Site,” in Akten Lykien II Bd. 2, 71–76.
Onur, F. 2015. “Parerga to the Stadiasmus Patarensis (15): The Road Network around Kasaba Plain,” Gephyra 12, 89–109.
Wurster, W. W. 1993. “Dynast ohne Palast – Überlegungen zum Wohnbereich lykischer Feudalherren,” in Akten Lykien II Bd. 2, 27–30.
Images:
W. W. Wurster, 1993
F. Onur, 2015
Ertuğrul Anıl, 2022
Bora Bilgin, 2022
Tayfun Bilgin, 2022