Kanytelleis ' Kanlıdivane '

Kanytelleis (modern Kanlıdivane) is located 50 km northeast of Silifke, in the mountains inland from the coastal highway. This large site was settled in the late 3rd century BC and continued to be occupied into the 11th century AD. Extant remains include the ruins of five churches and a huge Hellenistic tower built about 200 BC by Teukros of Olba. The site is surrounded by cemeteries with sarcophagi and rock-cut tombs. In 2006 a survey of the site was begun by Hatice Pamir of Mustafa Kemal University.On a peak in the Kırıkhan area is a sanctuary with fine masonry blocks, some of which bear a torus moulding. This structure, probably Hellenistic in date, must have been a heroon or temple. It was succeeded by a building with rubble walling. There were no finds at all from this area but the pottery from the slopes was mainly Roman, with a few Hellenistic sherds. Lower down this peak are rock-cut tombs with carved facades. One tomb has five portrait sculptures under a pedimented aedicula and another has a sculpture of a woman standing in a niche or doorway.A second area investigated was a plateau at the foot of the mountains. Occupation here was connected with metalworking and was especially dense in the Roman period. There was a major population rise in the area during the Roman period.