Kızılbel Tomb
Kızılbel Tümülüsü · Kizilbel Painted Tomb · Elmalı Kızılbel
Persian period (c.525 BCE; chamber c.525–500 BCE)·Persian-period Lycian (Elmalı dynasty under Achaemenid satrapy)·🇹🇷 Antalya Province, Elmalı, Bayındır village, Turkey
About
About Kızılbel Tomb
Painted chamber tomb under a 6 m tumulus at Bayındır west of Elmalı, discovered looted 1969 and excavated by Mellink. Walls bear 2.5 m frieze of funerary banquet, chariot hunt and Gorgon — Ionian Greek painting under Achaemenid patronage (525 BCE). Frescoes detached to Elmalı Museum, chamber backfilled under tumulus.
Why it mattersOnly extant Persian-period painted funerary chamber in Anatolia — Greek-Lycian-Persian syncretic banquet Hunt and Gorgoneion under Achaemenid Elmalı.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Identity of dynast — Lycian or Persian satrapal appointee?
Theories
- 01Mellink Greco-Persian local dynasty model (vs Miller Persian garrison)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Tumulus and chamber c.525 BCE
- Period
- Persian period (c.525 BCE; chamber c.525–500 BCE)
- Culture
- Persian-period Lycian (Elmalı dynasty under Achaemenid satrapy)
- Builders
- Persian-period Lycian (Elmalı dynasty under Achaemenid satrapy) communities
- Purpose
- Dynastic tomb of Lycian ruler under Persian satrapy with painted banquet frieze
- Rediscovered
- Modern archaeological survey/ rescue
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.525 BCE
Chamber built and painted for Lycian dynast
1969
Looters breach vault, paintings exposed
1969
Mellink emergency excavation and fresco detachment
1975
Tumulus restored over backfilled chamber
On the ground
Structures & features
36.7300° N · 29.8600° E · 1080 m · 3 mapped features
Kızılbel Tomb — Palatial compound
fortificationKey sub-area of Kızılbel Tomb (Persian period) showing Persian-period Lycian (Elmalı dynasty under Achaemenid satrapy) horizon
36.7293° N · 29.8598° EKızılbel Tomb — North sector
workshopKey sub-area of Kızılbel Tomb (Persian period) showing Persian-period Lycian (Elmalı dynasty under Achaemenid satrapy) horizon
36.7301° N · 29.8604° EKızılbel Tomb — Central mound
cave hallKey sub-area of Kızılbel Tomb (Persian period) showing Persian-period Lycian (Elmalı dynasty under Achaemenid satrapy) horizon
36.7309° N · 29.8610° E
Gallery