Kaunos Kral Mezarları

Caunos Tombs of the Kings

Useful Information

Location:	Kaunos, Ortaca.
Open:	no restrictions. [2024]
Fee:	free. [2024]
Classification:	Cave Tomb
Light:	n/a
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Kaunos Kral Mezarları, Çandır, Köyceğiz Muğla TR, 48840 Ortaca,
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

4th century BC

tombs built.

Description

photography — Lycian Tombs at Kaunos, Tombs of the Kings. Public Domain.

The lykian city Kaunos was a commercially important port city during Antiquity. Geographer Strabon wrote that Kaunos has a shipyard and a port that could be closed. The city was founded by Kaunos, the son of Miletos, after he was exiled because he had an improper relationship with his twin sister.

They are called Kaunos Kral Mezarları (Caunos Tombs of the Kings), but also lycian tombs of Caunos or lycian tombs of Dalyan because they can also be seen from Dalyan. The six rock tombs were built during the 4th century BC. They were later, during the Roman Period, still used. Each lykian tomb contains three stone beds on which the dead were laid. There are two Ionic columns on the facade and frieze and pediment above the columns. One of the pediments has lion reliefs. The façades of the rock tombs resemble the fronts of Hellenistic temples.

The rock cut tomb tradition in Anatolia started about 1,000 BC, and spread out to Lycia and Caria Regions through Phrygians. The style of the facades of the rock-cut tombs in Kaunos differs from the rock-cut tombs in the regions of Urartu, Phrygians and Lycia. Rock-cut tombs with temple façade are seen only in Kaunos and its hinterland. They are named “Kaunosian Style Rock-Cut Tombs” and their uniqueness is why they were submitted to the UNESCO WHL in 2014. However, they are still on the tentative list.

The tombs are located high up in the cliff face, and so they are inaccessible. There is actually a path leading up to the tombs, but it is closed. It ends before the tombs are reached, and actually it does not offer a good view on the tombs. It offers a nice outlook on the city Dalyan on the other side of the river though. The tombs can easily be seen without restrictions from below, so we decided to declare them accessible without restriction.