Archaeology

Kistak (Isthmus) Church

The church, remaining from the Eastern Roman Period of the island, is one of the two constructions outside city walls. It is located on the narrowly shaped isthmus that extends towards the north. The artefacts obtained from archaeological findings and the wall’s building technique suggest that the church dates to the 13th century AD. 

The construction plan is rectangular with an aisle and nave. On the eastern side, an apse can be seen from both the inside and the outside. On the north-eastern side, extending until the starting point of the vault, a cistern that was a late addition to the structure is still standing today.

 

Büyük (Big) Basilica

Büyük Basilica remains from Eastern Roman times. Considered to be one of the largest basilicas of the Karia region with a size corresponding to 35.50 x 19 meters long, it has pillar style with three naves and one apse. Underneath the dense rubble of the remain, there is a good number of decorated architectural pieces with delicate fine work. The column capitals decorated with Latin cross motifs, the ambon podium with vine leave and grape decorations, and other architectural pieces with ivy motifs have managed to survive until our day and time.

It has been observed that spolia has been used densely in the making of the construction. In a later period, on the north-western side of the basilica, a cistern was built as an addition. Büyük Basilica, overall, dates between the 5th and 7th centuries AD.

Agora

The agora was built on a flat landscape close to the port, and it stands on the west side of the theatre. Since the narrow isthmus geographically causes the east part of the region to house a limited number of settlements, it remains outside the city walls, similar to the theatre building. The agora expands to a vast area of 35 x 35 meters. Although some of the places that once existed on the east side of the courtyard are damaged, the building still stands to a relatively large extend; the remains of the front wall reach up to 4 meters in height while the side walls are partially perseved up to 2 meters. It is presumed that the remains of the agora date to Roman/Eastern Roman times. Since its side-by-side venues probably functioned as storage and shopping areas, it must have been used as a public building once that was in a constant state of flux with the port. The agora, and the way it remains today, has taken its final shape during Eastern Roman times.

 

Theater

Leaning on the northern hills of this small island settlement, Kedreai Theatre has an enormous value for proving us the significance of the place and the socio-cultural welfare of the Hellenistic times.

Although the remains are in the center of the residential area, the theatre lies outside the city walls. The stage with its capacity to seat around 2500 people is partially damaged, the cavea (seating area) is in relatively good condition. The walls of the theatre with their intricate and rich fine work decorations indicate that the theatre was built during the reign of Hekatomnid rulers (in the 4th century BC). The section below the cavea seating has survived partially under some earth fill. During the Eastern Roman Period, the architectural fragments of the stage were removed from their original places to be used for housing and port construction purposes. During the archaeological excavations, lower steps of the cavea seating and a few sections of the stage have been unearthed.

Defense Structures: City Walls and Towers

The city walls of Kedreai surround the residential area on the eastern side of the isthmus that divides the island into two parts. The area was used for religious purposes and other daily needs of the civilians. The city walls, extending from the north of the theatre around the island, follow the shoreline and encapsulate the public and sanctuary places. These robust walls, composed of large stones, are the earliest remains of the island dating to the 5th and 6th centuries BC. The city walls, which were once fortified with towers in areas with a broad view point and a weak defence system, gained its final form probably during the reign of Satrap Maussollos in the 4th century BC, and have only been used in the succeeding periods due to occasional repair work.

 

Kedreai Necropolis

The necropolis of Kedreai is located on the eastern side, around 350 meters away from the mainland, and stands proudly on the south of the small port just above the rising hills and slopes. Since the island could only house a limited number of settlements due to its size, the necropolis area includes the eastern part of the mainland.

Although in the mainland Kedreai, there are many tombs in different shapes and sizes, the most interesting ones are the family tombs surrounded by walls, containing more than one burial as continuation of Anatolian/Karian traditions.

The Apollo Sanctuary of Kedreai

The remains can be found in a prime location dedicated to the local main god Apollo. This essentially means, the sanctuary is positioned towards the southern shore, in between the flat area of two hills, and on the eastern side of the narrow isthmus surrounded by the city walls, where the actual residential area is located.

This sanctuary was built around the 2nd century BC, and covers an area of approximately 36.00 x 36.30 meters. It has a Doric order peristyle with an open terrace and cylinder-shaped altars where religious ceremonies were often held. The entrance to the sanctuary can be found in the northern partof the area.

Two inscriptions have been found from the terrace of the sanctuary. One of them is the honorary inscription for General Teisias, dated to the first quarter of the 2nd century BC. The other is an inscription on a statue dedicated to Apollo Pithios and the priest of Apollo Kedrieus which provides further evidence for their existing cult in Kedreai. The Apollo Sanctuary, surrounded by a high-quality wall, was the most important place of worship in Kedreai. This significant cult site, which simultaneously served as a communal gathering spot for the locals, maintained its religious purpose during Christianity with the addition of a basilica on top of a peristyle in Late Antiquity.