Lyrboton Kome Antik Kenti

Located to the northeast of Antalya city center, on the top of the mountain against which Varsak Mahallesi in Kepez district leans, Lyrboton Kome is an ancient settlement that continued to exist from the Hellenistic Age to the Middle Ages. According to an inscription found in Perge, it is also known as “Elaibaris” (olive farm) and is essentially a large ancient olive oil production village. Although it has remains largely dating from the Roman and Byzantine periods, it is thought to have also been inhabited in the Hellenistic Period. Although not much information is available about its history and form of administration, it can easily be said that from the 2nd century AD onward this settlement was a kome (village) attached to Perge and administered by a komarkhes, and that it continued to be inhabited throughout the Byzantine Period.

The olive oil workshops seen everywhere in the region are found most abundantly in Lyrboton Kome. The numerous and integrated workshops indicate a high level of oil production. The Via Sebaste - İmparator Yolu, coming from Döşemealtı and going to Perge, also passes through here. The income earned in Lyrboton Kome had a large share in the construction of the great cities on the coast, especially Perge. The arch erected in Perge by the brothers Demetrios is one of these.

The most important remain is the olive oil protection-storage tower. The inscription of the 2-storey tower, dedicated by Arete, whose name means “virtue,” states that “Priestess of Demeter Arete had this tower built with her own money and dedicated it to Emperor Domitian and Perge Artemis.”

The truly impressive inscription showing sustainability in production and the contribution of the family foundation describes the olive groves dedicated by Mouas, the son of Kille, who was Arete’s daughter. The inscription states that “he transferred for life to his mother Kille the farm he dedicated to Emperor Hadrian and the Apollo of the Lyrbotonians, 600 cultivated olive trees, the Three Olive Groves and the olive groves in Kallikades Armada; after his mother’s death, the komorkhos (headman) should keep the foundation alive, and on the 3rd day of September a festival should be held in honor of Apollo and the people should be sufficiently fed and given drink,” while at the end of the inscription it is stated that “no one is permitted to sell or dispose of the above-mentioned things, or to use the income obtained for any other purpose. Otherwise, a fine of 1000 dinars shall be paid to Perge Artemis.”

The inscriptions found in Lyrboton Kome reveal that a festival associated with the olive harvest and dedicated to Apollo was celebrated on the 3rd day of the 9th month. This data emphasizes how important olives and olive oil were for the settlement. Other traces of this production and of life in the settlement are numerous cisterns, more than 80 tombs, preserved 2-storey houses, 1 small bath, 4 churches, and other structures of uncertain function.

Sources

Burak Takmer – Nihal Tüner Önen, Via Sebaste, Anadolu’nun En İyi Korunmuş Roma Yolu’nun Varsak’tan Geçen Güzergahı, Varsak Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları 2, 2007, 21-24.

Nevzat Çevik, “Antalya’nın Tokası Varsak ( Lyrboton-Kome) İçin Önerilerim”, 2014.

Sencer Şahin, “Perge Territoriumundaki Antik Varsak Yerleşimi-Lyrboton Kome-Elaibaris”, Çağlar Boyunca Anadolu’da Konut, İstanbul, 1999, 437-445. Address: Varsak - Kirişçiler Mahallesi, Kepez / ANTALYA