Arneai is located at the northernmost end of the Kasaba Plain, on the eastern slope of the valley formed by the Tokluca River. The fortress stands on a rocky hill south of Günçalı (formerly Ernez) village, with the village’s former name being a derivative of Arneai.
The Patara Road Monument shows Arneai on the route between Myra and Dereağzı. The classical Lycian tombs, one of which bears a Lycian inscription (TL 83), confirm its identity as a Dynastic-period settlement. Although later restored, the fortress walls also reflect features of the Dynastic and Hellenistic periods.
During the Roman era, Arneai formed a sympoliteia together with nearby smaller settlements, and minted coins under its own name within the Lycian League. In the Byzantine period, it became an episcopal center under the jurisdiction of Myra. A three-aisled church from this period remains within the fortress. Other identifiable structures from earlier periods are limited to tombs, cisterns, and workshops. However, reused inscribed blocks in the fortress walls suggest the city once had rich monumental architecture.
References:
Çevik, N. 2021. Lykia Kitabı: Arkeolojisi, Tarihi ve Kültürüyle Batı Antalya, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara.
Dinç, S. 2012. ‘Hellenistik ve Roma Çağları Likyası’nda Sympoliteia’lar’, in Uluslararası Genç Bilimciler Buluşması I: Anadolu Akdeniz Sempozyumu 04-07 Kasım 2009 Antalya
Kalinka, E. 1944. Tituli Asiae Minoris Vol.2/3, Vindobonae.
Marksteiner, T. 1997. Die befestigte Siedlung von Limyra, Forschungen in Limyra 1, Vienna.
Image sources:
E. Kalinka, 1944
Ertuğrul Anıl, 2025
Bora Bilgin, 2025
Tayfun Bilgin, 2025