The ancient city of Korydalla was established on and around two low hills just west of Kumluca, approximately 2 km southeast of Rhodiapolis. It is thought that Korydalla formed part of a tripartite sympoliteia together with Rhodiapolis and the coastal city of Gagai, within which Korydalla appears to have held a leading position.
The site was first identified by Spratt and Forbes in 1842; however, almost no architectural remains survive today. None of the numerous buildings recorded in the settlement plan prepared by Spratt can now be traced. George Bean reports that in 1952 he personally witnessed stones being removed from the ruins and transported by truck for use as building material in nearby settlements.
Apart from a Lycian inscription (N 302) found in Kumluca, all coins bearing the name of Korydalla, as well as all inscriptions discovered at the site, date to the Roman period. The few identifiable remains that have survived to the present consist of a cistern, a water channel, and several rock-cut tombs.
References:
Başgelen, N. (ed.) 2005. Lycian Journal 1892 – Ernst Krickl, Archaeology and Art Publication, İstanbul.
Bean, G. E. 1997. Eskiçağda Likya Bölgesi, çev. H. Kökten, İstanbul.
Çevik, N. 2021. Lykia Kitabı: Arkeolojisi, Tarihi ve Kültürüyle Batı Antalya, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara.
Spratt, T. A. B. & E. Forbes. 1847. Travels in Lycia, Milyas and Cibyratis, London.
Images:
T. A. B. Spratt & E. Forbes, 1847
N. Başgelen, 2005
Bora Bilgin, 2023
Tayfun Bilgin, 2023
Reha Özer, 2023