Lycian Tombs  

All pre-Greek people of Anatolia built beautiful monumental tombs associated with some form of ancestor worship. The Lycians developed this form of art to perfection and the entire landscape of Lycia is still dotted with these fascinating funerary monuments. The most recent count has revealed one thousand and eighty-five examples still intact, divided among four types: monumental or heroon-type tombs (six known), pillar tombs (35), sarcophagi (60) and rock-cut house-type tombs (950).

Pillar Tombs are the oldest form of tomb and were used mainly for important dynasts.

Pillar tombs consists of a monolith which tapers towards the top and stands either directly on the rock or on a stepped base. The pillar usually has two chambers, one of which is square and carved out of the upper part of the pillar. The stone plate forming the lid of the pillar tomb can be of various shapes. Sometimes the pilllar tombs are decorated with reliefs.

Photo at right: pillar tombs of Xanthos - Harpy Tomb is on the right with casts of its releifs - originals in the British Museum. The tomb on the left is an interesting hybrid of a pillar tomb and a sarcophagus.

Sarcophagi are a common form of burial all over the world, however Lycian sarcophagi are distinctive - especially for their great size. These sarcophagi usually consist of four parts: a stepped base, a hyposorion, a huge flat plate and the sarcophagus (coffin and lid). Almost all have a pointed lid with a "Gothic" crest. In some sarcophagi slaves and dependents were held in the hyposorion. Lycian sarcophagi are often decorated with reliefs, usually on the sides and crest of the lid, but sometimes on the grave-chamber. Most of the intact Lycian sarcophagi belong to the Roman Age. These are generally smaller and simpler than those preceding them, with a rounded lid, though still with a crest. (photo above: Pinara)


Rock-Cut Tombs

These are the most numerous of all types of tombs and some are perhaps the most visually striking of all Lycian tombs - elaborate funeral chambers carved directly into the rock face, usually into a cliff. The oldest of these are at Pinara, hundreds of simple pigeon-hole caves honeycombing the cliff face. More often, the tombs are carved like the facade of timber Lycian houses with protruding beams, usually with one or two stories, sometimes three. The most elaborate house-type tombs are those carved in the form of Ionic temples, the largest and most famous at Telmessos (Fethiye) - the ‘Tomb of Amyntas’. These temple-type tombs have two columns, an epistyle and a pediment and usually have elaborate reliefs, such as the ‘King’s Tomb’ at Pinara and the ‘Painted Tomb’ at Myra. Rock-cut house-type tombs often held more than one body - many tombs have several benches inside upon which the dead were laid, often families. (photo above: Myra)

Rock-cut house-type tombs at Pinara displaying the characteristic "wooden" beams of ancient Lycian houses.

Tomb of Amyntas, Telmessos
Detail of a bull's horns on a tomb at Pinara. This detail is an example of the continued influence of the Lycians' Anatolian heritage - an ancient symbol of courage and power.

Monumental Tombs (also called Heroon) are few in Lycia. The earliest examples of 5th century BC, at Xanthos, Lymra and Apollonia, may not have been actual tombs, but rather hero-cult centers. The remaining four of these tombs of fourth century BC were most likely genuine ‘ruler-tombs’, the earliest being the beautiful ‘Nereid Monumument’ from Xanthos (now in the British Museum).

The Lycians' had a large ancestor cult and so tombs were very well-cared for. A few tombs have inscriptions which reveal that most tombs were prepared while their owners were living. These epitaphs consist mainly of the names of the deceased and many end with a curse or the price of a fine should the tomb be violated. Athena, or Malija in the Lycian language, was the goddess responsible for punishing the violaters of tombs. Each tomb was put under the care of a special committee called mintis which looked after the safety and comfort of the deceased and also collected fines for the violation of graves. Since the disappearance of the mintis thousands of Lycian tombs have been looted for their treasures throughout the centuries, yet their structures remain intact.