Roman observation towers unearthed in Turkey's Konya

A hundred border monitoring towers have been discovered in the Bozdağ National Park in the Central Anatolian province of Konya’s Karatay district. The towers were built during the Roman Empire to serve as border outposts and were also used by the Byzantines.

The area of the towers was used to house military garrisons by the Romans and was the
seat of an Armenian diocese in the Byzantine period [Credit: AA]

The tower remnants have been unearthed by a team of eight people headed by Selçuk University (SU) Conservation and Restoration of Movable Cultural Heritage Department President İlker Işık.

Speaking to the Anadolu Agency, Işık said the Bozdağ National Park had been an important field with ancient sites around it.

“We have found 100 towers, where one or two guards could keep watch. We have photographed 42 of them and we will work on the other towers in the coming days,” said Işık, adding they had examined an area of 3,500 hectares in two years.

He also noted the towers lost their function after the Roman and Byzantine eras and were used “as sheep pens and granaries” during the Seljuk period.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [July 13, 2018]