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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Derindere Kalesi |
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Type:
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Fortress |
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Altitude:
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m |
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Region:
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Eastern Anatolia |
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Province:
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Ardahan |
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District:
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Merkez |
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Village:
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Derindere |
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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 3 km northeast of the Derindere (Heva) Village of the Merkez District, 19 km west of Ardahan. Overlooking the Ardahan Plain, it was founded on an area with steep rocks on the southern section. The fortress (tower) was built in an irregular square plan, measuring 11.75x12.25 m in dimenions. The walls survived up to a height of 5 m to the present. The entrance is from the south, measuring 1.1 m in width, and 1.2 m in height. The interior dimensions of the tower are 4.7x4.4 m. Stones used for wall foundation are 3 to 3.2 m thick while they get smaller towards upper sections. It was enclosed by a wall made of large blocks with a thickness of 3 m on three sides except the northern section. To the immediate west of graves is a water spring. The fortress indicates that construction techniques of such buildings, of which similar ones are observed in the geographic areas like uplands of the Urartian Kingdom, and so called "Giant House" or "Dirhe" share a common origin, and they were built by influential groups. |
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