Historical Continuities from Bronze Age to the Present: Local Architecture of the Akseki-İbradı Basin (Turkey)

Abstract

The Akseki-İbradı basin (Antalya, Turkey) is situated in southwestern Anatolia at the transitional geographical band between the Mediterranean coast and inland Anatolia.The Taurus Mountain chain passes through the basin. In this mountainous topography architecture has become the means for survival. Local architecture reveals how the available material sources have guided the emergence of a characteristic construction technique. This is a specific combination of timber and rubble stone masonry.The traditional settlements of the region are fabricated through the reproduction of an essential structural principle underlying this construction technique. Almost all constructions ranging between the simple retaining walls to the masonry of the dwellings, share the basic joint between timber and stone. The structural system is composed of irregular units of rubbl e stone interlocked into each other without mortar. The system is reinforced, at every 50 cm. height, with a pair of timber runner-beams on the two faces of the wall. These runner-beams are connected to each other by tie-beams at horizontal intervals of 50 cm. As a result, rubble stone masonry is strengthened by inserting regular rows of runner-beams held in position by projecting cross-ties. Archaeological reports concerned with the middle bronze age (2500 - 2000 B.C.) constructions in Beycesultan (Denizli, Turkey) reveal the deep-rooted historical background of the above-mentioned construction system. Although archaeological sources indicate the continuity of this architectural tradition throughout history, this issue has not yet been investigated in detail. The objective of this paper is to explore the available archaeological information in order to unfold historical continuities between the construction system in the Akseki-İbradı basin and the documented structures of the Bronze Age Anatolia.