The ancient ruins of Akalissos are located approximately 3 km south-southeast of the city of Idebessos. In the Lycian League, Akalissos appears to have been the leading member of a sympoliteia formed together with the cities of Idebessos and Korma, and it minted coins in its own name. However, the extant remains are not sufficiently substantial to reflect a city of such status.
The ruins identified by Forbes and Spratt during their expedition in 1842 were already in a poor state of preservation at that time. Nevertheless, the name of the city could be read on one of the tomb inscriptions. To date, no structures have been securely identified in terms of their function. The best-preserved remains are funerary in nature. In addition to a small number of inscribed sarcophagi dating to the Roman period, there are several simple rock-cut tombs; however, none of these conform to the Lycian type.
References:
Çevik, N. 2021. Lykia Kitabı: Arkeolojisi, Tarihi ve Kültürüyle Batı Antalya, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara.
Images:
Bora Bilgin, 2023