The Üçayaklı ruins are a Byzantine-era

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

Mersin Province Mersin Province (), formerly İçel Province (), is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast between Antalya Province, A ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Geography

Üçayaklı ruins are on the plateau at the south of

Toros Mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a ...

with an altitude of between two Turkmen villages named Küstülü and Hüsametli in Erdemli

ilçe The Provinces of Turkey, 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 973 districts (''ilçeler''; sing. ''ilçe''). In the Ottoman Empire and in the early Turkish Republic, the corresponding unit was the ''qadaa, kaza''. Most provinces bear the s ...

(district) of Mersin Province. Although the site is in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey, bird's flight distance to

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast is and highway distance to the main highway D.400 at the coast is . The total distance to Erdemli is about and to

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

is about .

The ruins

The ruins are composed of two houses and a cistern. The big house is a two or three-storey building with balconies and wide windows on the second floor. The building was a

villa rustica Villa rustica () was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a farmhouse or villa set in the countryside and with an agricultural section, which applies to the vast majority of Roman villas. In some cases they were at the centre of a large ...

during the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

period. The stone walls, interior coving and blind vaults as well as corbels to support the balconies survive. But the ceiling and floor structures which were wooden have been demolished. There is a wide downspout which leads the rain water to a cistern at the back of the house. (In the Mediterranean area such cisterns were common during the Roman times). One of the balconies was a toilet room with sewage drain. There is also a smaller house at the back which was probably a service building of the villa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ucayak Ruins Former populated places in Turkey Ruins in Turkey Villa rustica Archaeological sites in Mersin Province, Turkey