https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4290-9760
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ABSTRACT
The objective of this paper is to develop a framework for understanding the archaeological sites composed of the remains and traces of castle towns and evaluating these sites together with their landscapes with a retrospective focus. A case study approach was undertaken with a focus on Kale Tavas (Tabae) in the Southwestern Anatolia. The scope of the Historic Landscape Characterisation was adapted to characterise the remains and traces of the castle town together with its landscape. Site survey at different scales, archive research, and in-depth interviews were used to acquire data. Our results suggest the related conservation boundaries should be determined not only considering the citadel walls but also the natural context that had contributed to the evolution of the castle town. For Kale Tavas, heritage management should be planned by considering the values of the historical landscape and the factors that threaten them, as this study shows.
Acknowledgment
We would like to thank the hospitable former inhabitants of Kale Tavas, especially the village head Halil Pekgüzel, for their kind support and hospitality during the field surveys.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Geolocation of Kale Tavas
37º25´54´´N, 28º50´40´´E.
Notes
1. Ruins of ancient structures.
2. Signs which show that ancient civilisations have been in the studied place.
3. Zerzevan Castle and Mithraeum, The Bodrum Castle, Mamure Castle, Alanya, Trading Posts and Fortifications on Genoese Trade Routes from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea which consists of eight forts (Yoros, Foça, Çandarlı, Çeşme, Amasra, Akçakoca, Sinop, Güvercinada together with the city walls in Kuşadası) and one tower (Galata), Early Period of Anatolian Turkish Heritage: Niksar, The Capital of Danishmend Dynasty, Historic City of Harput, Archaeological Site of Assos, Tushpa/Van Fortress, the Mound and the Old City of Van, İznik.
4. These photos are from 1946, 1949, 1953, 1954, 1960, 1965, 1972, and 1992. Moreover, the orthophoto image 20 km2 in size of Kale Tavas and its vicinity with 30 cm resolution captured in 2017 was used.
5. The censuses carried out in different cities in different periods for the determination of taxes in the Ottoman finance organisation and the books in which these censuses were recorded.
6. A mesa is flat-topped hill or mountain with steep sides that is lower and bigger than a butte and smaller in area than a plateau. The base of these landforms is often gently sloped, contrasting with the almost-vertical sides leading down from the top. Rock material that has been eroded from the sides is carried downward, forming this sloping base (Reynolds Citation2011, 369).
7. The highest points refer to the peaks of the mountains surrounding the area which are Babadağ Mountain (2370 m) to the north and Sandıra Mountain (2294 m) to the south, Karınca Mountain (2308 m), Uykulu Mountain (1800 m), Kesir Mountain (1910 m) to the west, and Karadağ (1756 m), Akdağ (2249 m) and Bozdağ (2421 m).
8. The Menderes Valley earthquake with a 6.9 magnitude in 1899, the Burdur earthquake with 7.0 magnitude in 1914, the Mediterranean earthquake with 6.8 magnitude in 1952, the Fethiye earthquake with 7.1 earthquake in 1954.
9. Interview with KÜ and PH, 14 June 2019.
10. Interview with PH and KA, 14 June 2019.
11. Interview with KA and KÜ, 14 June 2019.
12. It was prepared within the scope of the Environmental Law No. 2872 of The Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Environment, Urbanization of Climate Change (Turkey Legal Gazette Citation2006).
13. Account of the Vilayet of Anatolia, dated 1530, numbered 166 (Genereal Directorate of State Archives, Department of the Ottoman Archives Citation1995).
14. The name of the fountain to the west of the settlement was called yavansu, meaning tasteless water, by its former inhabitants. It is thought that its name derives from the taste of water.
15. A blacksmith produced agricultural tools, and the burnt materials can still be observed in the area.
16. Interview with PR, 15 June 2019.
17. Interview with ŞY, 14 June 2019.
18. Haynatı is an open space on the ground floor. It is for used for sheltering animals, raising domestic fowl, storage, and circulation.
19. Interview with PH and ŞY, 14 June 2019.
20. It is a circular stone which is used to compact the soil covering the roof after rain and snow.
21. Interview with KA, 14 June 2019.
22. A dish made pepperoni and yoghurt with garlic.
23. A dish made with fried eggplant and meat.
24. A kind of tomato paste prepared for the winter, obtained from tomato juice.
25. A juicy meat dish.
26. Interview with ŞH, 14 June 2019.
27. The name Tavas or Davas also might be named after tavı az, meaning ‘unfavorable state’ stemming from the lack of fertile agricultural land in the castle.
28. It means a weaving loom.
29. It means Thursday in English and Perşembe in Turkish.
30. It means Monday in English and Pazartesi in Turkish.
31. Interview with PR, 15 June 2019.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Ayşen Etlacakuş
Ayşen Etlacakuş, B. Arch, M.Sc., PhD. Received her B. Arch in Architecture from Dokuz Eylul University, Faculty of Architecture (2006), and received her M. Sc. in Architectural Restoration from İzmir Institute of Technology, Faculty of Architecture (2015). She completed her PhD in 2023 and continues to work as a Research Assistant at İzmir Institute of Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage. Her current research interests are cultural landscapes, historic landscape characterisation, preservation of historic rural and urban environment, and documentation, restoration and conservation of historic buildings and Geographic Information System.
Mine Hamamcıoğlu Turan
Mine Hamamcıoğlu Turan, B. Arch, M. Sc., PhD. Received her B. Arch in Architecture from Dokuz Eylul University, Faculty of Architecture (1990), and received her M. Sc. in Architectural Restoration from Middle East Technical University, Faculty of Architecture (1994). Earned her PhD. Degree in Architecture from Izmir Institute of Technology, Faculty of Architecture (2000). She works as a professor at Izmir Institute of Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage. Her current research interests are restoration and conservation of historic structures and preservation of historic urban and rural environment.