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
