The ancient city of Tyberissos is located on a hill at the eastern edge of the Tırmisin (Çevreli) plain, a few kilometers north of Teimiusa (Üçağız). The settlement dominates the entire plain, which lies between the foothills of Mount Masikytos (Beydağları) to the north and the low hills running parallel to the coastline to the south. The name of this fertile plain derives from Trm̃mis, the Lycian designation for their land in their own language.
The Lycian name of the city appears as Tubure on the Inscribed Monument at Xanthos. The name Tyberissos has been in use since the Hellenistic period. According to inscriptions discovered at the site, Tyberissos maintained political relations not with the much closer city of Kyaneai, but rather with the more powerful and territorially extensive city of Myra. Tyberissos and the neighboring Teimiusa may have formed a sympoliteia with Myra during the Roman Imperial period.
The site contains remains dating from the Dynastic period through to the Byzantine period. The city is situated on a hill with two peaks. The area surrounding the higher northern summit, enclosed by fortification walls, likely represents the earliest settlement and would have functioned as the acropolis. The remains of a small church on the lower southern hill were built over an earlier temple. Spolia used in the church construction indicate that this earlier temple was dedicated to Apollo during the Hellenistic period.
Monumental Tomb of Tyberissos
This is the most prominent Dynastic-period monument at Tyberissos. The tomb was carved into a massive outcrop of bedrock standing in isolation in the middle of the plain, slightly north of the city’s necropolis. A façade imitating the classical wooden architectural forms of Lycia is carved into the smoothed rock surface.
The monument is notable for its craftsmanship and the Lycian inscription it bears. Unfortunately, the name of the tomb owner is not preserved in the Lycian inscription (TL 76). However, the name of the goddess Malija, invoked as a protector who will punish those who violate the tomb, can be read. Malija is a Luwian deity who was later syncretized with Athena during the Hellenistic period.
Traces on the surrounding rock suggest that offerings were made both in front of the monument and on the upper surfaces of the outcrop. The tomb is dated to the early 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.
Images:
Bora Bilgin, 2022, 2023, 2025
Tayfun Bilgin, 2022, 2025
Reha Özer, 2023, 2025