Hide and Seek. Roads, Lookouts and Directional Visibility Cones in Central Anatolia

In Cappadocia (central Turkey), routes that were only of a secondary importance during the Roman age acquired a new relevance starting from the end of the 7th century. In this framework, to what extent did the archaeological evidence match the picture recalled by the written sources? To address this question, the relationship between movement and visibility was considered and viewshed analyses were conducted from targeted and strategic spots set along the routes considered. This allowed to better understand the role and the different functions of those axes crossing Cappadocia, and to evaluate the Byzantine/Arab military strategies in central Anatolia

Beyond the myth of the Cilician Gates. The ancient road network of Central and Southern Cappadocia

Central and southern Cappadocia could very well have served as a major hub within the context of the ancient communication system of Anatolia. The whole district was, indeed, passed through by a series of routes, which effectively linked east and west, as well as south and north. The ‘southern’ road leading from Iconium/Konya to Podandos/Pozantı and the Cilician Gates, running across the Çakıt Suyu valley, ensured smooth and easy communication between the Anatolian plateau and the Mediterranean shores of Cilicia. The ‘northern’ highway, from Iconium/Konya to Colonia Archelais/Aksaray and Mazaka/Caesarea/ Kayseri, connected the inner land to the eastern boundary of Anatolia and especially to the Euphrates district. Another historically important road from Mazaka/Caesarea/Kayseri to Podandos/Pozantı and the Cilician Gates joined the former route to the latter, closing that sort of wide and ideal ‘road triangle’ – whose vertexes being Konya, Kayseri and Pozantı – which has really characterized that frontier territory, and which this paper tries to describe

Cappadocia centro-meridionale (Turchia). Il sistema di viabilità antica in una terra di frontiera

While considering the ancient road network of Anatolia, central and southern Cappadocia could very well have served as a major hub or pivotal area, and merits our special attention on account of its strategic importance both in the military and in the economic senses. The whole district was, indeed, passed through by a series of roads, which effectively linked east and west, as well as south and north. The ‘southern’ directrix leading from Konya/Iconium to the Cilician Gates, running across the Çakıt Suyu valley, ensured smooth and easy communication between the Anatolian plateau and the Mediterranean shores of Cilicia. The ‘northern’ highway from Konya/Iconium to Aksaray/Colonia Arcilaida and Kayseri/Caesarea - which has at least been in use from the Achaemenid period to nowadays - connected the inner land to the eastern boundary of Anatolia and especially to the Euphrates district. Another historically important road from Kayseri/Caesarea to the Cilician Gates joined the former directrix to the latter, closing that sort of wide and hypothetical ‘road triangle’ - whose vertexes being Konya, Kayseri and the Cilician Gates – which has really characterised that frontier territory. This thesis tries to describe all that road system, which has been in use, even if in different ways, through time till nowadays. The ancient road-tracks have been reconstructed by a renewed study of Greek, Roman and Byzantine literary and epigraphic sources, new archaeological data, new surveys conducted on-site and by remote sensing analysis. And all these have led to a reconsideration of the various hypotheses advanced by scholars with regard to the actual line taken by these arterial roads, and they have drawn us to propose a more congruous picture of the ancient road network which existed in this border territory that linked East and West

La Cappadoce méridionale de la Préhistoire à l'époque byzantine

Il y a environ 25 ans, Olivier Pelon organisait à l’Institut Français d’Études Anatoliennes d’Istanbul un colloque destiné à faire l’état des recherches sur la Cappadoce méridionale jusqu’à la fin de l’époque romaine. Un quart de siècle après ce premier colloque, il était intéressant de faire un nouveau point sur l’avancée des recherches dans cette Cappadoce méridionale, de la préhistoire à la période byzantine. Ce nouveau colloque, placé cette fois encore sous l’égide de l’Institut Français d’Études Anatoliennes et intégré à la série des Rencontres d’archéologie de l’IFEA réunit vingt-trois communications. Si les périodes néolithique et chalcolithique ont été particulièrement bien représentées, ce qui témoigne bien de l’importance de cette phase de la préhistoire cappadocienne, liée aux gisements d’obsidienne des Melendiz Dağları, on soulignera en revanche l’absence presque totale du Bronze Ancien. Cette phase est en effet peu représentée dans l’archéologie locale. La même remarque peut s’appliquer au Bronze Moyen. La fin du Bronze Moyen, fort heureusement, est représentée à Porsuk, de même que le Bronze Récent qui bénéficie, depuis peu, tout comme l’Âge du Fer, du démarrage fructueux des fouilles de Kınık Höyük. Enfin, l’Antiquité tardive et Byzance ont pu être représentées, principalement autour de Tyane, ce qui n’avait pas pu être le cas lors du premier colloque. En octobre 2012, quelques semaines avant la tenue de la Rencontre, on apprenait malheureusement le décès brutal et inattendu d’Olivier Pelon, ancien directeur de la mission de Porsuk (jusqu’en 2002) et organisateur de ce premier colloque cappadocien. C’est bien en hommage à sa mémoire que notre Rencontre cappadocienne de 2012 et sa publication ont été naturellement dédiées