Kilise Tepe
Kilise Tepe is a mound in Mersin Province, Turkey. The original name of the mound is not known and Kilise Tepe in Turkish means "church-hill" referring to a church ruin.
Geography
The mound is situated in the rural area of Mut at 36°29′N 33°33′E / 36.483°N 33.550°E close to road connecting Turkish state way 
to Gülnar. Its distance to Mut is 20 kilometres (12 mi) and to Mersin is 145 kilometres (90 mi). It is just west of the Göksu River (Calycadnus of the antiquity).
History
The earliest settlement is dated to third Millennium BC. During the Hittite Empire era, it was used to control the road between the Hittite lands in Central Anatolia and the Mediterranean ports. [1] There had been two great fires during that period. The settlement continued during the Hellenistic period . But there is no indication of a settlement during the Roman Empire era. The ruined church is an early (5th century) Byzantine church.
Excavations
The excavations began in 1994 as a joint effort between Cambridge University and Newcastle University. After a pause the excavations resumed in 2007.[2] The Cambridge team is headed by Prof. Nicholas Postgate and is responsible for the Iron age excavations. The Newcastle team is headed by Dr Mark Jackson and is responsible for the Byzantine excavations. The Turkish collaborators were Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University in 2010-2011 term and Bitlis Eren University in later terms. Presently, the speaker of the excavations team is Tevfik Emre Şerifoğlu of Bitlis Eren University[3] The findings are exhibited in Silifke Museum.
References
- ↑ Mersin Ören Yerleri Kaleleri Müzeleri ISBN 978-605-4196-07-4, p 325
- ↑ Cambridge University Archaeology page
- ↑ Bitlis University Archaelogy page (Turkish)
