It is a small Lycian settlement built on a hill where the Tokluca and Kasaba streams meet the Myros river, which has an important position controlling the northern end of the Myros valley. Dereağzı settlement was first recorded in the modern period by Texier in 1836. Although it was on one of the main road route, the Lycian name of the city is unknown. Unfortunately, the blocks of the Patara Road Monument, on which the name of the city should be written could not be found. It is thought to be the city of Mastaura, which is mentioned in this region in Byzantine period records. No excavation has been done yet. Findings from surface surveys date back to the 9th century BCE. However, the earliest architectural structures are rock tombs with facades imitating wooden architecture from the Dynastic Lycian period. Most of the ruins in the acropolis date from the Byzantine period. Apart from the tombs, another work dating back to the Lycian period is the relief made on the rocks near the castle gate. A bull sacrifice scene is depicted on the relief.
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’, 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.
Image sources:
W. W. Wurster, 1993
F. Onur, 2015
Ertuğrul Anıl, 2022
Bora Bilgin, 2022
Tayfun Bilgin, 2022