habitat rupestre.pdf - Società Friulana di Archeologia

RUPESTRIAN CULTURES OF TURKEYCRHIMA-CINP projectsettlements of religious character, covering a long period, certainlyfrom the fifth to the thirteenth century, but it is not impossiblethat some of them might be earlier. Some complexesremained in use till the sixteenth century (Jolivet-Levy, 1991),or actually till the twentieth century, as in the case of KarşıKilise near Gülşehir, abandoned only at the time of the exchangeof population between Greek and Turkish (Jolivet, 2001, pp.163-181), occurred further to the Lousanne treaty of the 1923.They are found inside the pinnacles, in the walls of naturalamphitheatres, or under the ground level (De Jerphanion,1925-1942;Thierry, 1971; 1981; Jolivet-Levy, 1991; 2001).Generally, these settlements consist of churches (see later) andof facilities related to cenobitic life (kitchen, refectory, library,monastic cells, pilgrim accommodations). Burials may befound in separated chambers or in graves dug under the pavementof underground rooms (‘tombs’, see later). Sometimesthe monasteries are provided with interior areas protected bydefensive devices (‘underground shelters’, see later), as manyother underground settlements. The overall organization ofrocky monasteries offers a large variety of forms: most ofthem are of rocky courtyard type.Fig. 3 Administrative boundaries of the six districts partly corresponding tothe ancient Cappadocia (drawing R. Bixio)Fig. 4 Rocky sites: AKSARAY district (drawing R. Bixio)Fig. 5 Rocky sites: KIRŞEHİR district (drawing R. Bixio)Rocky churchesChurches and chapels may be found both in monasteries andisolated. They are often associated with cliff villages, undergroundshelters, underground towns. The typical architectonicelements of masonry churches are present in rocky churches,but of course as pure ornament and not as structural elements,excavated ‘in negative’. The spaces can be quite complex, withcolumns, naves, domes, narthex, iconostasis, and decoratedwith wall paintings and bas-reliefs. Let us remind that, anyway,one finds also masonry churches built on the ground(Derinkuyu, Viranşehir, and so on). From the sources it isknown that built churches existed already in the fourth century.Likely, in the same period, also rocky churches should bepresent, so far not yet dated. Built churches are almost completelydesappeared at the beginning of the twentieth century(C. Jolivet, personal communication).Rocky tombsIn Cappadocia there are different types of tombs, of variousages: mounds, masonry tombs, rocky tombs. Rupestriantombs, excavated in solid rock, are, in turn, of three types:chamber tombs, room-like excavated in the wall of cliffs orboulders; graves, or hole-tombs, excavated in the horizontalsurface of rocky outcrops and on the top of cliffs; floor-graves,excavated under the trampling level inside rupestrian buildings,like churches, chapels, hermitages.Rocky pigeon-lofts (dovecotes)The number of pigeon-lofts dug into the valley’s slopes is large indeed, testifying the past importance of pigeons in localeconomy. These structures, of small dimension, are mostlyfound in the canyons, close to the cultivated areas (Gülyaz,2000). They are positioned high up above ground level, andgenerally present great difficulties of access, to protect dovesfrom predators. The pigeon-lofts consist of a series of smallwindows, often painted with geometric, animals and plantsrarelyhuman - stylized patterns of various colours over awhite background. The ornaments on dovecotes, sometimes asvolumeRicerca_OK_2012-11-15.indd 194 16/11/2012 15:03:19