ISAURIA BÖLGESI'NDEN BIR KAYA ANITI: BASAMAKLI SUNAK MI? MEZAR MI?/A Rock Monument from the Isauria Region: Is it a Stepped Altar or a Grave?

Dibektasi, an ancient settlement located in the south part of the Isaurian Region on the borders of Pamphylia, Pisidia, and the mountainous Cilicia regions, was an important point on the routes connecting central Anatolia to the Mediterranean. Because of its central location, the ancient Dibektasi settlement is considered to be the heart of the Isaurian Region. Today the region is inhabited by nomads from Antalya, Dibektasi. Due to illicit excavations over the years, none of the architectural structures remain, with the exception of some blocks which T. B. Mitford considered to be the remains of a temple. The remains of several ossuaries and their lids as well as few other architectural elements built into the walls of mountain houses and fountains have been found. In this area, where ossuaries are most commonly found, is the remains of a stepped-rock mounment. Archaeologists conducting studies in Dibektasi have all interpreted this rupestral monument to be related to the Cybele cult in the region. By comparison with Phrygian stepped altars, this monument has been generally dated to the 6th century B.C. The stepped structure, formed by the trimming the natural rock, is similar to the stepped altars of Phrygia. However, some details on this stepped-rock monument suggest that it is not a cult area. The first one of these details is a basin located on the monument number 2. While some scholars interpret this feature of the monument as a container for ritual offerings, others suggest that it is a throne as seen in the Phrygian stepped altars. However, this feature is actually an ossuary. Rock ossuaries, tombs, and chamosoria with raised steps are known from the settlements in the Isaurian Region and elsewhere. Another significant detail which demonstrates that this monument is a grave rather than a stepped altar are the three reliefs on the monument, not found on any of the other stepped altars in the region, but which are characteristic of funerary architecture. The fact that two of these reliefs represent Medusa supports the notion that this monument is actually a grave. The third relief depicts a cavalry scene; horsemen and cavalry are commonly depicted on rock graves and ossuaries in the region, and such relief scenes have not been observed on any of the other stepped altars found locally or elsewhere. Most of all of the relief examples are from Phrygia, and are interpreted to be related to the Cybele cult. Formed by the trimming of the bedrock, the steps