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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Kemah Kalesi |
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For site maps and drawings please click on the picture...  |
For photographs please click on the photo...  |
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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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Erzincan |
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District:
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Kemah |
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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 is situated in the district center of Kemah, 50 km southeast of Erzincan. It lies within the Kemah Strait, a narrow valley between Karadag to the north and the Munzur Mountains to south of the district. The Tenasur Brook that flows down from the the Munzur Mountains, surrounds the fortress making a curve starting in the east, then in northeast and north, finally spills into the Euphrates (Karasu) River. The natural crack caused by the brook delimits borders of the fortress at the same time, and strenghtens defence system of the fortress. At the westernmost end of the fortress runs Karasu. To the west is the historical route, which is still used. With a natural defence system on three sides, it seems that the fortress has been used from the 2nd Millennium to the present. Illicit diggings and faulty restorations contributed much to the destruction of the fortress. Excavations at Kemah Fortress has been conducted by H. Yurttas since 2011. To the north is a water tunnel with rock steps descending down to the brook, which has been mostly covered with dirt at present. Analyses on ceramic data indicate that the fortress was occupied during the Iron Age. |
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