3. Cilt - Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı

Site No. 58; İskenderun (Çankaya; Ancient Alexandria kat’ Issos) (Fig. 3)UTM East 246870 UTM North 4051000; Dating: Pers?-Hell -Rom-Byz -MA–OttA concentration of pottery, roof tiles and building material embedded in darkashy soils, was found on hills overlooking İskenderun at its south. These hills areknown as Esentepe in general and as Çankaya in the particular area where theartifacts were found. The hill slope is steep in the north rising to some 60 metersin height. The hill then slopes more gently towards an acropolis like summit at aheight of 159 meters. The artifacts were found over an area of ca. 1100 m lengthand 300 to 400 m width. Pottery was collected in slope cuts, gardens and yardswithin the modern settlement on the hills. Standing architecture was nowhereobserved on the hills. At 246900.4050350 illicit digging exposed what appears tobe monumental stone architecture. In a garden at 246852.4050844 column drumswere found in addition to large quantities of pottery and roof tiles. On the Çankayasummit two cisterns were excavated by illicit diggers. The contents of the cisternswere thrown out next to the cistern openings and contained large quantities ofdiagnostic pottery sherds (position 246941.4050575 and 246911.4050508).Earlier explorations on Esentepe and Çankaya were conducted by Heberdeyand Wilhelm (1896: 19) in 1891 and 1892 and Janke (1904). Between 1930-31,Paul Chammas (1931) investigated the hills in soundings. He reported fortifi cations,domestic architecture, sewage channels, cisterns, wells and the remains ofinstallations for oil production. Chammas uncovered mosaics in at least one,apparently Roman, house. These mosaics are today in the museum of Antakya(Keskil 1969: 34-35; inscriptions on the mosaics were published as Jalabertand Mouterde 1950: nos. 705-707). On the slopes of Esentepe and Çankaya,Chammas discovered Roman sarcophagi, tombs covered with roof tiles and rockcutgraves. Between 1983 and 1985 Hellenkemper and Hild visited İskenderunand published soon after the most detailed report on its antiquities available today(Hellenkemper and Hild 1986: 112-115). By the time of their visit, most of the visiblearchaeological remains on Esentepe and Çankaya were already destroyed. Theyobserved, however, remains of ancient ashlar walls along the slopes and betweenthe dense modern domestic architecture here.Few archaeological remains were observed in the lower modern city. At246200.4051950 the ruins of fortifi cations are visible. The ruins, called İskenderunKalesi, were part of a restoration plan in 1998. Apparently the plan was never carriedout. The ruins lie neglected and heavily damaged by a new road leading to Arsuz174