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Figure 21.4 Bulla and seal impression from Daskyleion. DS 112 on Erg. 260 (Deniz Kaptan).
Figure 21.5 Bulla and seal impression from Daskyleion. DS 172 on Erg. 367 (Deniz Kaptan).
Figure 21.6 Bulla and seal impression from Daskyleion. DS 3 on Erg. 5. cylinder seal impression and composite drawing (after Kaptan 2002: Pls. 9–10).
The fragments of relief slabs and stelai found around Daskyleion represent convoys, banquets, hunting, and rituals showing priests in long capes and women in courtly settings, some of which bear inscriptions in Aramaic and Phrygian (Borchhardt 1968: pp. 173–179, 192–208; Nollé 1992; Maffre 2007: pp. 230–240; Polat 2007; Draycott 2010: pp. 7–10). They had been removed from their original locations long ago and were reused for many purposes, such as grinding stones and troughs, and blocks in masonry. Their possible connection with the tumuli in the estates of local and Persian nobility has long been suggested.
Recent research in the area has systematically focused on settlement patterns, land use, and spatial organization, and mapped out the locations of burials and possible locations of the estates/farms/çiftliks. The survey team of the Granikos River Valley Project documented a number of sites in the area between the Kocabaş Çayı/Granikos River and Gönen Çayı/Aisepos River (Rose et al. 2007). The surface pottery shows a gap between the end of the Classical/the Achaemenid period and the Roman period, suggesting a significant change in the occupation pattern and land use by the end of Achaemenid rule. As the economy was not controlled by satrapal centers and protection was no longer available in the countryside, the estates appear to have disintegrated and people moved to the newly established Hellenistic cities.
The tumuli, which are often located near water sources and on natural ridges, blending well with the landscape, are emblematic of the prestige and social status of the elite. They also functioned as the markers of estates. At the top, stone balls, phalloi set into bases, were placed to mark the monument. Despite the plunder of many of the tumuli, the retrieved contents are sufficient to display the level of prosperity and the owners' affiliation with the empire. Among the numerous tumuli dating from the sixth to the end of the fourth centuries BCE, three burial sites – Kızöldün/Gümüşçay, Dedetepe, and Çan, also those near Daskyleion (e.g. Tepecik, Koru, and Kocaresul) – revealed extraordinary finds. Kızöldün, yielded two marble sarcophagi, one small and one adult size (Sevinç et al. 2001; Rose 2007). Because of its unique relief decoration the large one in Late Archaic style and dated to the end of the sixth century BCE carries significant art historical value. Known as the Polyxena Sarcophagus, it is the oldest decorated stone sarcophagus excavated in Asia Minor. The leftovers of the vandalized sarcophagus include the bones of an adult male, whereas, ironically, the relief decoration of the sarcophagus represents female‐dominated scenes. The remains of a wheeled cart were also retrieved. As observed in some other tumuli in western Anatolia, the inclusion of wheels in burials appears to be a part of the funerary tradition. The brightly colored klinai in the chamber of the nearby Dedetepe burial parallel those at Aktepe and Laletepe in the south (Baughan 2008). The retrieved contents of both burials span from heirloom jewelry to wooden furniture that resemble the types in Iran, as well as musical instrument fragments that may have played a significant role in the region at funeral services. The third burial at Çan, also looted, yielded a marble sarcophagus with representations of hunt and battle on horseback. Like the tomb furnishings and spolia at the Daskyleion excavations, these sarcophagi were of Proconnesian marble, the quarries of which seem to have been easily accessible to those around Daskyleion. Recent work at Daskyleion has also shown the inclusion of rock‐cut tombs in burial practices (İren and Kasar 2015).
A small regional center was located at Seyitömer Höyük, about 25 km to the north of Kütahya. This is a strongly fortified settlement mound dating back to the early Bronze Age. The Achaemenid period levels yielded import Attic pottery, local adaptations of Achaemenid bowls in pottery, and a small group of bullae (Kaptan 2010; Coşkun 2015; Grave et al. 2016). The archeological contexts of some of the bullae associate them with a relatively large structure on the mound where subterranean silos for storage were also excavated. The settlement was conveniently located close to the intersection of an ancient route that was clearly in use in the Achaemenid communication network. There are two gaps in its occupation history, one between the end of the Middle Bronze Age and the early fifth century BCE, and the second toward the end of the fourth century BCE and the early Hellenistic period, indicating an evident resettlement during the Achaemenid period, most probably for its convenient location for the collection and distribution of revenues. Overall, the architecture and the bullae suggest the presence of a regional warehouse, located on a key point in the road system that connected northwestern Asia Minor to the inland and coastal areas.
Black Sea Area and Central Anatolia
Several rock‐cut tombs in Paphlagonia, some decorated with reliefs, present a variety of types (von Gall 1966; Summerer and von Kienlin 2010). Their precise dating is difficult. Based on similarities to Achaemenid types, the bulls, lions, and winged creatures on the reliefs, as well as animal protomes used as column capitals, the tombs with temple‐like façades at Kalekapı in the province of Kastamonu, and Direklikaya near Salarköy/Boyabat probably date from the Achaemenid period if not early Hellenistic with prolonged Achaemenid characteristics. Notable also are a few finds from Oluz Höyük, a settlement mound near Amasya; e.g. pottery bowls with offset carinated rims and Achaemenid period seals (Dönmez 2015, figs. 15–16, 28). Currently, several regional surveys have been mapping out the settlement and land use in this long‐neglected area, one specifically focusing on the Achaemenid period (Johnson 2010).
Gordion, the former capital city of Phrygia, has been noted by its excavators as a dynamic settlement during the Achaemenid period even though it lost its famed political position. Its location on the juncture of major routes in the east–west direction played a significant role in maintaining the city's vibrant life. The arrival of the Achaemenids was documented archeologically by the destruction of the Küçükhöyük fortress. The megaron plan, typical of the Phrygian period, was in use during the Achaemenid period. The production of goods, bone, stone, ivory, and metal artifacts fed the prosperity, well displayed by the Painted House in architecture and its wall paintings, seals, fine pottery, transport amphorai of import wine, and the use of molded glass vessels in daily use among portable items (Voigt and Young 1999; Jones 2005: p. 116; Dusinberre 2005: pp. 24–27, 51–73).
In the Phrygian highland, the architectural remains at Midas City point to the presence of a prosperous town (Haspels 1971: pp. 139–146). The tumbled fragments of the monumental reliefs of a rock‐cut tomb, Yılan Taş at Köhnüş valley, impressively show the visual aspects of intricate military identities of the elite during the Achaemenid period (Draycott 2010: pp. 17–19; Haspels 1971: pp. 129–137; Akurgal 1961: p. 306, Figure 19).
The preliminary reports of a recently launched project at Ovaören‐Yassıhöyük reveal the presence of a significant settlement in Cappadocia (S¸enyurt 2014: pp. 101, 106).
Karia and Lycia
The people in Karia and Lycia had complex ethnic backgrounds with connections to Luwians of the Bronze Age, and close contacts with the Dorian settlements in the west. Lycia occupied the rugged terrain of the western Tauros mountains, dominated by two massifs, Massicytos (Akda