Use and function of Orthostat in architecture in the south of Anatolia in Bronze and Iron age

The Anatolian peninsula, especially in the southern part of Anatolia, has an ideal climate, rich mineral deposits and has maintained its importance since the prehistoric times in terms of its cultural transition route (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia and the Balkans). This popularity in the Bronze and Iron Age was also influential in the development of architecture. The lower parts of the wall bodies are protected by orthostats as they are the weakest part against external factors and groundwater. Orthostats were used to increase the statics of the structure and to provide monumentality and visuality to the structure. The orthostats used in architecture since the Middle Bronze Age in Anatolia showed two different types of development, both in the Levant and Aegean groups, both in terms of function and form. B.C. At the end of the 13th century, as a result of both climatic changes and the attacks of the sea peoples, the political structure of Anatolia changed completely and finally the Hittite Empire collapsed. As a result of the cultural migrations seen with a domino effect from the north to the south, it resulted in the formation of new cultural regions in the southern part of Anatolia. The orthostats shaped by the Hittite-Assyrian influence in the Iron Age are among the most important architectural products of the Late Hittite art. Orthostats made mainly of basalt and limestone material have been used in temples, city gates, palace and hilani structures, grave structure, monumental street walls and civil architectural structures. Key Words: Anatolia, orthostat, static, monumental, Hittitie, Assyrian.