A Group of Coins Unearthed in Silifke Castle

Abstract

“Silifke Castle” situated in Silifke, Mersin is located on the pilgrimage and trade route on a 186 meters high hill. The first settlement began in the Middle Chalcolithic age. In the Silifke Castle, where settlement was also seen in the Hittite and Assyrian periods, the castle and the city provided a great development during the Selefkos period (321 BC - 95 AD), which also gave its name to the district. It is also known that the castle was used as an acropolis during the Roman period (95 BC - 395 AD). It is known that the main shape of the castle belongs to the Roman period, and the shape has survived to the present day mostly belongs to the Byzantine Period. The castle was used with additions and repairs during the Roman, Byzantine, Armenian Barony of Cilicia, Karamanoğlu and Ottoman periods. As a result of the repairs and changes it had undergone, it has the appearance of a medieval castle-city today.

During the excavations that have been going on since 2011, under the directorate of Prof. Dr. Ali Boran, some of the castle bastions, the Mosque, places used as residences and cisterns were unearthed.

Excavations in 2020 were carried out in the North-West part of the castle, in the areas between the Hisarpeçe, which is located in the south of B4 space, and A2 space. During the excavations carried out in this area, coins belonging to different periods were found. After the excavations, 186 artifacts including Roman, Byzantine, Armenian Barony of Cilicia, Karamanoğlu Principality, Ottoman State and European coins were found in different places. After the cleaning and conservation of the unearthed coins, their identification and evaluation were made.

The main purpose of the research is to identify these coins, which were unearthed as original examples in the 2020 excavation period, to compare them with similar examples and to determine the characteristics of the period and make a contribution to the literature.