Sinekkale

Sinekkale

Shown within Turkey
Location	Silifke, Mersin Province, Turkey
Region	Mediterranean Region
Coordinates	36°27′26″N 34°00′07″E
Type	Villa rustica
Length	24 metres (79 ft)
Width	21 metres (69 ft)
History
Periods	Roman Empire to Byzantine Empire
Site notes
Archaeologists	Semavi Eyice-Ina Eichner

Sinekkale (literally "The castle of flies") is the archaeological remains of a big villa rustica in Turkey. The original name is unknown.

Location

Sinekkale is at 36°27′26″N 34°00′07″E in the rural area of Silifke ilçe (district) of Mersin Province. Its distance from Silifke is 20 kilometres (12 mi) and from Mersin is 80 kilometres (50 mi). Sinekkale is to the north of some other sites of archaeological importance such as Karakabaklı and Işıkkale. The visitors follow the Turkish state highway D.400 which runs in parallel to Mediterranean Sea coast. About 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) west of Atakent the visitors turn to north for about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi). The last 500 metres (1,600 ft) is unaccesible by motor vehicles and the visitors have to walk through the bushy area.

History

The building is a typical Roman or Early Byzantine building. But there is a symbol of the Hellenistic Olba Kingdom carved on the lintel of one of the auxiliary buildings. The first description and a plan of Sinekkale were prepared in the early 1970s by Turkish art historian Semavi Eyice. Friedrich Hild, Hansgerd Hellenkemper, Gilbert Dagron and Olivier Callot also visited the site and recently Ina Eichner made the most accurate description of the house.

The building

The east to west dimension of the villa is 24 metres (79 ft) and the north to east dimension is 21 metres (69 ft).It is a two-storey building. There are five rooms in the ground floor and six rooms in the first (mostly demolished) floor. There are visible consoles in the first floor which once supported a balcony. The house has a cistern, two bath rooms and a toilet.