Öküzlü is an archaeological site in

Mersin Province Mersin Province (), formerly İçel Province (), is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast between Antalya Province, A ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Geography

Öküzlü (''Öküzlüklü'') is situated in the rural area of

Erdemli Erdemli is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,279 km2, and its population is 151,928 (2022). It is west of the city of Mersin. Geography Erdemli is located between the districts of Mezitli (to the east) a ...

district which is rich in archaeological ruins. It is close to

Batısandal Batısandal (meaning "west sandalwood" named after Santalum album, a common tree) is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Erdemli, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 744 (2022). It is situated in the hilly region to the sout ...

village. There are many ruins around Öküzlü.

Kanlıdivane Kanlıdivane (''ancient'' Canytelis, Greek: Κανυτελής) is an ancient city situated around a big sinkhole in Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography Kanlıdivane is in the rural area of Erdemli district, which is a part of Mersin Province at ...

and

Elaiussa Sebaste Elaiussa Sebaste or Elaeousa Sebaste () was an ancient Roman town located from Mersin in the direction of Silifke in Cilicia on the southern coast of Anatolia (in the modern-day town of Ayaş, Erdemli District in Turkey). Elaiussa (Ελαιού ...

are to the south,

Emirzeli Emirzeli (İmirzeli) is a group of ruins in Mersin Province, Turkey. Location Emirzeli is a part of Karaahmetli, Erdemli, Karahmetli village in Erdemli district of Mersin Province. The road to Emirzeli detaches from Turkish state highway Stat ...

is to the west, Tapureli ruins are to the north of Öküzlü. Highway distance to the coastal town of Ayaş on Turkish state highway D.400 is . Öküzlü is also accessible from

Limonlu Limonlu (ancient: ''Antiochia Lamotidos''; Byzantine: ''Lamousia''; Arabic: ''Lāmis''; Armenian: ''Lamos'', popularly called ''Lamas'') is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Erdemli, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 2,93 ...

(Lamos of the antiquity). Its distance to Erdemli is and to

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

is .

History

The original name of the site is not known. Turkish name Öküzlü (literally "with ox") refers to reliefs of oxen on column heads (now in Mersin Museum). Archaeological evidence from masonry imply that the site can be backdated to

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

era. It was however reconstructed in the 5th or 6th centuries, i.e., early

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

era.

The ruins

The house ruins in the north of the site are examples of the polygonal and Byzantine masonry. One house is a

peristyle In ancient Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture, a peristyle (; ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. ''Tetrastoön'' () is a rare ...

house. The foundations of some buildings are carved rock. There are

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

along the road. At the center of the site there are ruins of a basilica. The basilica with three naves and a transept is backdated to about 500. There is a smaller church situated about south of the basilica.Mersin Valiliği: ''Mersin Ören yerleri, Kaleleri, Müzeleri'', İstanbul, 2009, , p 166-167

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okuzlu ruins Archaeological sites in Mersin Province, Turkey Former populated places in Turkey Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Erdemli District Olba territorium