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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Bayburt Kalesi |
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Type:
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Fortress |
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Altitude:
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1652 m |
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Region:
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Black Sea |
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Province:
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Bayburt |
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District:
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Merkez |
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Village:
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Merkez |
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Investigation Method:
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Survey |
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Period:
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Middle Iron Age |
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| It lies on an rocky area surrounded by the Çoruh River in the province of Bayburt. It is one of the most steady structures which survived to the present day from the Urartu Period. Presence of a church inside the citadel indicates that a Christian culture was adopted here during the Middle Age. With a circumference of around 3 km, the widest section is 900 m, and the narrowest section is 500 m long. Foundations being seated on a sturdy bedrock, the walls were mainly erected using the infilled wall technique with a combination of rubble stones and regular ashlar block masonry. Traces of earlier wall can be seen in the cliffy area to the east of the fortress. Also, traces of some structures are observed to the southeast. On the northwestern skirts, 10 m south of the Çoruh River, a stepped water tunnel carved into the bedrock was found at an altitude of 1590 m. There is another opening at the upper section of the water tunnel, which was used for illumination purposes. The water tunnel measures 0.5x0.55 m in dimensions. The gate of the water tunnel from the Urartu Period opening into the fortress was walled up, and the rock steps carved into the bedrock were eroded. On the defense walls there is an arch adopted from a basilica leaning against the Ebul-Feth Mosque. Sherds collected during the survey conducted by A. Sagona are dated to the Early Bronze Age. It was visited during the survey conducted by S. Çigdem in 2013. It was suggested that the bottom section of the fortress walls could be dated to Hellenistic-Roman Period. Roman potsherds were found on the surface [Çiğdem et al. 2015:72-73]. |
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