Columbarium tombs of the koramaz valley

Abstract

Kayseri, established on the foothills of Mount Erciyes, is an important city located in the area that can be regarded as the central point of Anatolia. From the time of Kanesh’s settlement until today, Kayseri has always been the crossroads of important trade routes. By the times of the Roman period Kayseri had become one of the most important centers of the region. Monumental tombs, wall ruins, and temple ruins, which have survived till the present day, show the scale of the reconstruction activity that was carried out in Kayseri by Rome. Cremation was an important burial tradition that came from Rome. For some period, this tradition became widespread with the use of mass graves known as columbarium tombs. Columbarium tombs were collective burial areas, which served to particular classes of people. The Koramaz Valley is an earthquake fracture formation with its length of approximately 12 km. It is located in about twenty kilometers northeast of Kayseri city center and contains many rock-carved structures: tombs, Christian churches and still inhabited villages. Within the scope of this study, we have examined 21 columbarium tombs and 3 dovecotes located in the Koramaz Valley. In the first chapter, the general history of Kayseri is illustrated and then the Koramaz Valley is described. Thereafter, burial methods of the Roman period are examined, especially practices of cremation and columbarium tombs constructing are discussed. We point out that dovecotes are often confused with columbarium tombs. The fact that almost all of the columbarium tombs were later transformed into dovecotes is a decise factor in this misunderstanding. Therefore, in the conclusive part, the Koramaz Valley columbarium tombs, which are the subject of this study, are examined in detail, and their differences with the dovecotes are clearly highlighted. Keywords: columbarium, columbarium tombs, dovecote, cremation, the Koramaz