Tırmıl (also Tırmıl Höyük) is a

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones bu ...

( tr, höyük) in Mersin,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Geography

The tumulus is in the urban fabric of Mersin at about . It is located on top of a low hill with a circular area of about radius. The grocery wholesales markets are to the west of the tumulus and newly developed cheap housing quarters of the city are to the east of the tumulus. But there is no modern structure on the tumulus. The bird's flight distance between Tırmıl and

Yumuktepe Yumuktepe (or Yümüktepe) is a tell (ruin mound) at within the city borders of Mersin, Turkey. In 1936, the mound was on the outskirts of Mersin, but after a rapid increase of population, the mound was surrounded by the Toroslar municipality o ...

, the oldest ruin in Mersin, is about .

History

The site seems to be inhabited in the

chalcolithic The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...

age. The settlement continued up to the medieval age. But it is not mentioned in any ancient or medieval document. Probably the first reference to the tumulus was by Sir Francis Beaufort in 1812 who placed his theodolite on the hill during his mission in southern Turkey coasts. (See Caramania) . He was unaware of its historical significance. The tumulus was discovered in 1951 by

Veronica Seton-Williams Veronica Seton-Williams (20 April 1910 – 29 May 1992) FSA, was a British-Australian archaeologist who excavated in Egypt and the Near East, as well as in Britain. She studied history and political science at the University of Melbourne and t ...

Mersin archaeology page
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Finds

On the top of the tumulus the ruins of an ancient castle can be seen. Only two bastions one at the north east and one at the northwest are partially standing. There are traces of ancient pottery all over the tumulus.

Neighbourhood

The name of the tumulus has been used as the name of the industrial site to the north of Tırmıl ( tr, Tırmıl Sanayi Sitesi). The name is also used as the name of the first stop in the commuter trains from Mersin to

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, wh ...

which is located to the south of Tırmıl.TCDD official page
/ref> (see

Adana-Mersin Regional The Adana Mersin Regional is an intercity rail service operated by the Turkish State Railways. It operates between two major cities of Turkey; Adana and Mersin. It also services Tarsus, Mersin, Tarsus . The trains operate on the Adana-Mersin Main L ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tirmil Archaeological sites in Mersin Province, Turkey Mersin