BIKE CLASSICAL: Adamkayalar: Death Cult Community perched above Hellenistic and Roman Reliefs

Photos by Jack A. Waldron

If you are on the ground in the area searching for this ancient site, then you will probably be able to find it, however, if you are searching Google Maps, or Wikipedia, or other online sites, good luck. However, you are now in luck, because here are two coordinates; the first is for the ancient site itself, which is a collection of very well preserved ancient structures (36°29'01.5"N 34°07'16.9"E), and second, this is the location of the reliefs themselves, which the average visitor would have no clue as to where they could be (36°28'56.4"N 34°07'12.9"E). Pictured above, with Mediterranean Sea in the distance, I am standing at the edge of the steep cliff approximately 50-60 meters above the Roman reliefs. If you look just below the peak at the upper center of the photo you can see another possible group of reliefs that continue along the edge behind my head. Further up the canyon at back, there is another ledge that I am sure contains more reliefs (36°28'50.5"N 34°06'58.2"E). All of these locations are blurred out on Google Maps.

Regarding the location of this site, the coordinates on Wikipedia and other online sites are mostly incorrect, and as you can see on the satellite map below, the area where the reliefs are located are completely blurred out, along with the other locations throughout the canyon. The green flags and stars on this map are mine, as there are no other pins on Google Maps that indicate the site even exists. So, why make it so difficult to find this site?

I can guess at two possible reasons this ancient site has been made so difficult to locate; the first being to protect the reliefs from vandalism, which as we will see is very valid, the second, climbing down the steep rock face to the reliefs is very dangerous, and I am sure people have slipped and fallen down the cliff in the past.

When entering the site, we pass by necropolis that is located just east of a large complex of ruins (pictured below).

As you can see in the photos below, sarcophagi boxes have been honed out of the bedrock, and have been capped with sculpted sarcophagi lids.

As mentioned on the information signboard, this settlement is thought to have been sacred, with its inhabitants practicing a death cult. Since the Greeks did not have any death cults, it's assumed that the Romans were the practitioners at this sight.

However, a number of the structures and reliefs at this site are believed to date from the 4C BCE, which means this area was occupied prior to the Roman takeover. Prior to the arrival of Alexander the Great and his army, the area was controlled by Arsames, a nobleman of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and the satrap in charge of Cilicia.

Following Alexander's victory at the Battle of Gaugamela, Arsames was replace by another Achaemenid Persian nobleman named Mazaeus, who swore his loyalty to Alexander, and recognized the Macedonian as the successor of Darius, thus becoming the Hellenistic satrap of Cilicia.

To my eye, many of the older structures at this site appear to predate the Roman takeover of Cilicia, and display a more Hellenistic cyclopean style of mortarless stone block construction.

That said, large portions of these buildings were reworked and reconstructed between the 4C BCE through to the Byzantine period, so there is a mix of various styles of construction to be seen at the site.

Pictured below, a view out over the main building at the site with the Mediterranean Sea in the distance. What we cannot see in this photo is the massive cliff drop-off just meters beyond these ruins.

Pictured below, the standing wall in the foreground is of the style known as opus pseudo-isodomum, which is a Roman masonry that combines alternating large and thin stone blocks, that help keep the wall more stable and earthquake resistant.

The massive stone blocks that form the door frame and wall of the structure pictured below have more of a cyclopean wall style.

However, in the right of the photo below, we see an odd stone block that stands out from the others. This style is known as opus rusticum (rustic), and it probably dates from the Late-Roman period. This style is formed by flat square ashlars, edges with bevels, and a rustic or roughly sculpted face.

Many arches and walls remain intact within this complex of rooms and structures, and all or most of the building blocks remain at the site. I would like to see this group of buildings made visitor friendly, as it can be quite dangerous to climb over the piles of stone, not to mention climbing down to the reliefs.

I witnessed two acts of unacceptable behavior during my visit to the site; the first was of a male visitor climbing and walking over one of the arches of a building, and the second act, a very serious situation of life and death.

While I was exploring the reliefs along a ledge about 50-60 meters down the cliff from the ruins, some adult males were hurling stone bocks from the structures down into the canyon with them hitting the ledge around me. With my shouts echoing through the canyon, I shouted at them to stop, and eventually they did. These sites need to be protected by satellite, and there should be a feed to guards who would be responsible to cover certain areas or sites.

The photo above shows the steep cliff face I have just climbed down in order to reach the ancient reliefs. This was quite a perilous decent, and you can imagine the feeling of have stone boulders crashing through the trees and bushes after being hurled down from a 50-60 meter high cliff.

As mentioned above, it's thought that the ancients who lived here were followers of a death cult, and this practice was certainly Roman, which involved beliefs in rebirth and rejuvenation.

Not unlike later Christian beliefs, many power and participation in the afterlife was expected, and involved a cycle of rejuvenation of life, not unlike the earthly seasonal cycle of death and rebirth.

Pictured above and below, a soldier is bidding farewell to his seated wife who has her arms wrapped are a standing girl, presumably their daughter. Also, notice the small dog standing on it's hind legs in the lower left hand corner of the scene.

Whether the soldier's body was returned home to this site or not, the ledge where this scene is located would most probably have been witnessed a gathering of friends and relatives in remembrance of the deceased.

However, prior to the remembrance gathering at the gravesite rites would have been given to the deceased in an elaborate funeral known as a 'pompa funebris', which was a very important aspect or practice amongst cults of the dead.

Moving further along the ledge we come to a large group of reliefs, some of which may or may not be related (pictured above and below).

At ledge level there is a relief of a figure (probably the deceased), sculpted in a reclining position on a lectus, or dining sofa, with a scabellum below it. We have a close-up of the reclined relief in the photo below, and though we can still see the shape of the head in the rock, the face is no longer visible. I suspect this relief is of a woman.

Directly above the ledge level relief is a group relief of three figures, probably members of the same family, and features another figure also in a reclined position.

This reclined figure is definitely lying on a lectus, which was usually used while dining, and sometimes for sleeping (pictured below).

In the photo below, we can see more clearly the inscription in the rock face just below relief. We also get a closer look at the footstool just in front of the lectus, called a scabellum. Below the scabellum, we can see an inscription.

The inscription is in Greek, and we may assume the inhabitants of the site above spoke the Greek language, and furthermore, Greek was the language used by administrators of the state and for commerce in Cilicia during Roman and Byzantine rule.

To the right of the inclined figure pictured above, is what appears to be a seated woman (or man, as the shoulders are quite broad!), who is set a bit back from the other two figures. I see her (or, him) in formal dress, with what looks like a head cover.

Positioned to the right of the seated figure in this scene is a standing warrior with two Roman hasta spears in his right hand, and a shield hanging on his left arm.

Pictured below is a closer look at the standing warrior, who looks to have been defaced, perhaps at the hands of an invading army?

Further to the left within this large grouping of reliefs we have two figures in separate niches, both presented standing within Roman temples (pictured below).

The figure on the right is presented holding a Roman hasta spear in his right hand, and with his left hand resting on the grip, called the palpate, or tenaci, of a Roman sword, called a gladius.

This provincial warrior strikes me as being quite young, though the relief may be depicting the deceased fighter as young soldier.

The prowess of the depiction also stands out, the flowing cape of a common soldier, called a sagum, and the hands ready at the battle.

This proud soldier is also honored with a relief of a Roman eagle, which appears in the pediment of this Roman temple frame work.

This is quite a magnificent funerary relief, and I do hope the local government will spend more funds to protect it (and the others) from vandalism.

Pictured below, a close-up of the Roman eagle within the temple pediment. This is something I imagine would only have been bestowed on a soldier who died honorably.

Also presented within a Roman temple frame is a second figure just to the left of our valiant soldier relief. This figure is not wearing soldiers gear, or holding any war implements, but reflects more of an administrator, or a citizen of high stature, or perhaps a priest.

What I find most interesting about this relief is the action of the left arm and hand. We can clearly see the left hand resting on an object that reaches down to ground level.

The object his left hand is resting on appears to be either a very long Roman sword, called a spatha, or a Roman augurs' lituus, or maybe even a Roman Catholic crozier.

This group is very interesting, well scalped, and definitely worth the risk of descending down to the ledge, the depth of which you can see in the photo below.

Leaving the large group relief, we come to a somewhat odd group of rock face reliefs, which includes a cave (pictured below).

At the left of the group, we see the figure of a man standing beside and looking at a relief of a temple, and perhaps holding something in his hands.

I suspect that, this is a relief of a man making a libation offering (choe) to the deceased, which could have been wine, milk, olive oil, or food, that would then have been placed within the niche of the temple relief.

Further, the cavelike cavity to the right of the reliefs is most likely a tomb, where the deceased for whom the offerings were being made, was interred.

Moving even further along the ledge, we come to yet another grouping of rock face reliefs (pictured below).

The relief to the right of the group is of a reclined male figure (the deceased), lying on a lectus with a scabellum below.

The texture of this rock relief is quite a bit smoother than those seen earlier, and the body proportions are also a little more realistic, or natural.

In the photo below, I tried to shoot the entire length of the section below the relief, because I wanted to see if I could capture an inscription in its entirety, though the light was not in my favor.

The inscription is in Greek, and though I'm sure it's been translated into English, I've not been able to find it (pictured below).

Just to the left of the stately reclined figure relief is a relief of what may be a younger man, and I say this because this figure does not appear in military dress.

However, we have to ask questions about the purpose of this relief, because I'm not sure this is the relief of a deceased individual, but might actually be a presenter of an offering to the stately reclined character.

The young figure pictured here is framed by a Roman temple in the Doric order, and though I think this relief dated from the roman period, I am not absolutely sure.

The young man is looking out from the temple as his step and body are moving in the direction of the stately reclined figure in the relief to the right.

In his right outstretched hand he holds a what appears to be either a dear or a wild boar, which in my opinion he is being presented as an offering to the gods as a prayer of good tidings for the deceased stately reclined individual, who may be the father of the young man. Also, notice the four hanging fingers of the right hand, which might have a symbolic meaning.

In the photo below, we can see the young man and his offering in the right of the photo, and to the left of him is a third relief.

This relief is also framed by a Roman temple, and features a muscular standing figure dressed in what may be a military outfit (photo below). He is standing next to a reclined figure, who is probably the deceased.

In the photo above, you get a nice glimpse of cliff. I think my photos of these reliefs might have been helped with some natural shadowing from the sun.

I might speculate that these reliefs would have been visited by surviving relatives of ceremonial occasions to give offers and prayers to the deceased.

I might also guess that there was no temple within the community where these offerings could be made, so these temple reliefs sufficed.

Another possibility is that these are Late-Roman era pagan sites, and perhaps they were placed here on the cliff ledge in a very difficult to reach area as the community had mostly converted to Christianity?

Certainly, the ledge location would have offered some protection from Christian believers, or, perhaps this was the only available canvass on which to display the tributes, and to make offerings.

On display within the pediment of the temple frame is a Roman eagle (aquila), that symbolizes strength, power, courage and immortality, SPQR, the soul of the legion, which leads me to speculate that the deceased was a member of Roman military.

Not seeing anymore reliefs along the edge, it was time to climb back to the top of the cliff, which I might add, is a lot easier than climbing down. Pictured below, a view of the Cilician coast, and my future home, Cyprus, where I am writing this article from.

Before I finish this blogpost, as I was descending from Adamkayalar I came across the antiquities you see pictured below.

Unfortunately, having struggled to locate this site on the map has proven impossible, because I cannot remember where exactly I saw them. So, if you know where they are located, please write the coordinates in the comment section below.

As you can see, this mausoleum is in a pretty good state of preservation. I believe it to Late-Roman, but I cannot be absolutely sure.

This structure was most likely a feature of the main road that took travelers into the community center. We can see in the photo below a very large Corinthian capital, though I didn't get a detailed enough photo to tell if it was Late-Roman, or Early-Byzantine.