The ancient city of Tyberissos is located on a hill at the eastern end of the Tırmisin (Çevreli) plain, a few kilometers north of Teimiusa (Üçağız). The city dominates the entire plain which lies between the foothills of Masikytos (Beydağları) in the north and the low hills parallel to the coastline in the south. The name of this fertile plain comes from Trmmis, the name given by the Lycians to their country in their own language. The Lycian name of the city is shown as Tubure on the Inscribed Monument (Kheriga Monument) in Xanthos. The name Tyberissos has been used since the Hellenistic period. According to the inscriptions found in the city, instead of the much closer city of Kyaneai, there was a political relationship with the city of Myra which had a stronger and wider territory. Tyberissos and the neighboring Teimiusa may have formed a sympolitea with Myra during the Roman imperial period.
There are ruins from the dynastic period to the Byzantine period. The city is built on a hilltop with two peaks. The area around the higher northern peak that was protected by walls was probably the oldest settlement and must have been the acropolis of the city. The remains of a small church on the lower hill to the south are located on an early temple. It is understood from some inscribed stones used as spolia in the construction of the church that the early temple was built in the name of Apollo in the Hellenistic period.
Monumental Tomb of Tyberissos
It is the most remarkable dynastic period monument in Tyberissos. The tomb was built on a massive bedrock rising alone in the middle of the plain, a little north of the necropolis area of the city. A façade imitating the classical wooden architecture of Lycia is carved on the smoothed rock surface. The tomb is notable for its workmanship and the Lycian inscription on it. Unfortunately, the name of the tomb owner could not be preserved in the Lycian inscription on it. However, the name of the goddess Malija, who will punish those who disrespect the tomb, can be read. Malija is a Luwian goddess who was replaced by Athena in the Hellenistic period. Some traces on the rocks suggest that offerings were made in the area in front of the mausoleum and on the upper side of the rocks. The tomb is dated to the beginning of the 4th century BCE.
References:
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.
Uğurlu, E. 2000. ‘Lykia Bölgesi Ölü Gömme Adetlerine Genel Bir Bakış’, AÜ Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 2.1, 359-388.
Zimmermann, M. 1992. Untersuchungen zur historischen Landeskunde Zentrallykiens, Bonn.
Image sources:
Tayfun Bilgin, 2022
Bora Bilgin, 2022, 2023
Reha Özer, 2023