Preliminary Report on the 2024 Fieldwork at Phoenix

Bibliographic Data

ID21609497
AuthorsAsil Yaman (0000-0003-1532-756X), Koray Konuk (0000-0002-2556-4270), Anna M Sitz (0000-0003-3580-2428), İlayda Alikaya, Taylan DOĞAN (0000-0002-9006-5574), Erkan Dündar (0000-0002-7907-1260), M Rumeysa Çakan, Aslıhan Güçlü, Ayşe Özaydin, Kübra Günbey, Bahar Cansel Itez, Güneş Anliak, Şeyda Sayin, Aleyna Uyanik, Elif Sokullu, Hilal Demirhan, M Serhat Aydemir
Year2025
Volume33
Pages197-229
Publication date2025-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnatolia Antiqua (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1018-1946 • E-ISSN: 2823-1090
PublisherOpenEdition (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.4000/16bgy
LanguageEN
References cited14

The fourth season of the Phoenix Archaeological Project (PAP), conducted in 2024, focused on the northern and eastern chora of Phoenix on the Bozburun Peninsula in south-western Turkey. Intensive survey and documentation were carried out across c. 600 hectares, integrating archaeological, geomorphological, epigraphic, and biodiversity studies, as well as oral history interviews and contemporary art initiatives. At Gökçalca, a terraced hillside settlement with at least 53 dry-stone structures and polygonal walls was recorded, indicating a planned Archaic community. On the summit of Somakkaya, an open-air peak sanctuary with a stepped altar, libation basins, and terraces showed strong parallels with Phrygian cult landscapes. At Kaledağ, a fortified acropolis and lower enclosed settlement with agricultural features highlighted its long-term strategic role. In the rural zone, farmsteads and olive oil workshops at Dağ Yeri, Bedelence, and Tülü Tepe, together with terraces, cisterns, presses, and a basilical church, demonstrated intensive agricultural organisation from the 4th century BCE to the Byzantine period. In the chora, Kapakdibi and Mazıkısığı yielded further complexes of farms, necropoleis with stepped pyramidal tombs, and olive oil installations. At the same time, the Ottoman-period village of Büğüş and nearby windmills illustrate cultural continuity into the modern era. These results shed new light on the long-term socio-economic, religious, and cultural landscapes of Phoenix within the Carian Chersonese and the Rhodian Peraea, correcting earlier misinterpretations and assumptions based on insufficient or weak data

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