Polygonal walls of Ksanthos

The ancient city of Ksanthos, in the Lycian Region, was inhabited the economical wealthy administrative sector during the Classical Era. It is located within the boundaries of the Kınık village to Kınık Kaş town. The discovery of the ancient city of Ksanthos which was made by voyagers in the 19th Century and is on the banks of the Eşen River, which formed the border between Antalya and Muğla. The existence of the ancient city of Ksanthos has been known for more than the 150 years. The systematic excavation studies of Ksanthos, which have been conducted over the past 60 years, showed that it never lost its significance from the Archaic Period to the last years of the Eastern Roman Empire. The city was surrounded by a rampart of 3 kms in lenght since the Hellenistic Period. Even if borders of the city changed from period to period, the rampart dominated a considerably area. In this study, we compared Ksanthos' polygonal masonry with many other cities' polygonal masonry, many specimens were evaluated. 35 walls with polygonal masonry have been discovered to date and these have been classified according to their architectural structures, the periods and their individual characteristics. Excavation work carried out on the walls with polygonal masonry have been evaluated under the main headings of military, official and civilian structures. The measurements of walls and types are examined within these sub-headings. Specific to the Ksanthos, the main purpose for the examination of the polygonal masonry which was used for approximately one thousand years (from late archaic period to 7th century A.D.) is to reveal the differences in surface and edge workmanship. The types that have emerged in this way have been tried to be grouped under another main heading. Remains which are rarely encountered in the Ancient city of Ksanthos were in the context of the Hellenistic Period. It has been determined that the walls with polygonal masonry can be assigned under the heading of defensive architecture. In the light of this information, it can be seen that polygonal masonry was used in architecture throughout these periods. Keywords: Polygonal masonry, Systems of masonry, Ksanthos, Lycia