Kaunos – Silted Harbour of the Carian Port, Dalyan
Καῦνος · Kaunus · Caunus · Dalyan Kaunos
Archaic to Late Antique (10th c. BCE – 15th c. CE)·Carian / Lycian / Greek / Roman / Byzantine·🇹🇷 Muğla Province, Dalyan, Turkey
About
About Kaunos – Silted Harbour of the Carian Port, Dalyan
Kaunos, a Carian-Lycian border port founded 10th c. BCE, now lies 8 km inland due to progradation of the Dalyan delta and the 5 km Iztuzu barrier spit that closed its bay after c. 200 BCE. 1 m marine to freshwater transition. City retains intact 5,000-seat theatre, Roman baths, and six rock-cut temple tombs. Harbour abandonment forced Kaunos to relocate its port to deeper moorings at Ekincik; Strabo notes the city already complained of marsh fever (malaria) from the delta.
Excavations by Baki Öğün since 1966.
Why it mattersClassic case of harbour silting by barrier-spit formation on the Lycian coast; complements Ephesus and Patara lagoon sequences.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether second outer harbour existed seaward of Iztuzu spit
- 02Relation of Kaunian king's tomb (Lycian type) to Xanthian dynasts
Theories
- 01Delta closed harbour within two centuries after 200 BCE due to deforestation in Caria uplands
- 02Malaria forced urban contraction before Ottoman abandonment
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 10th c. BCE
- Period
- Archaic to Late Antique (10th c. BCE – 15th c. CE)
- Culture
- Carian / Lycian / Greek / Roman / Byzantine
- Builders
- Carians / Greeks
- Purpose
- Port for Carian rock-salt, resin and ship timber; border customs between Caria and Lycia
- Abandoned
- 15th c. after Ottoman conquest and harbour loss
- Rediscovered
- 1842 by Hoskyn and Forbes (Royal Navy survey)
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
10th c. BCE
Carian settlement founded on Calbys estuary
400 BCE
Kaunos under Mausolos of Halicarnassus; harbour fortified
c. 200 BCE
Iztuzu spit closes bay; harbour begins rapid silting
1966
Baki Öğün begins systematic excavation
On the ground
Structures & features
36.8256° N · 28.6206° E · 8 m · 3 mapped features
Sülüklü Göl silted inner harbour
harbour420 m silted Classical basin with mooring niches
36.8261° N · 28.6215° EKaunos theatre overlooking harbour
theatre5,000-seat Hellenistic theatre above harbour
36.8275° N · 28.6230° ERock-cut temple tombs
tombSix pedimented Lycian-Carian tombs above Dalyan river
36.8235° N · 28.6180° E