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Turkey, Kaunos: The Baetyl Sanctuary
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The flat terrace above the agora and harbour of Kaunos has a long history of sacred use. In late antiquity a three-nave Christian church was constructed here. Before that (from the first century BCE) the site was a temple and temenos dedicated to Zeus Soteros. Earlier still (perhaps fifth century BCE) is this unusual round structure, built at an angle to the axis of the later temple.
When first uncovered, the structure’s purpose seemed mysterious. But the mystery was partially solved when archaeologists sank a trench underneath the central flat circular slab and found a large, roughly conical baetyl, 3.5m in height resting on bedrock about 6.5m below the present surface. This sacred stone, associated with the eponymous founder of the city, appears as a design on several of the city’s coins.
Note that the inner ring wall is plastered on its interior surface, suggesting that quantities of water (or other liquids) were involved in whatever rituals were conducted here.
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