Strategic Hilltop Settlement
Acropolis
A terraced settlement overlooking the Dalaman Plain, about 11 km inland — consistent with Strabo's description of "the city above the sanctuary of Leto."
Şerefler · Asar Tepe
Caria · Lycia · Late Bronze Age
KalyndaThe Forgotten Carian Harbour
Rising above the Dalaman Plain on Asar Tepe, at the border of Caria and Lycia — the harbour city whose ship changed Artemisia's fate at Salamis, which traded amphorae with Ptolemaic Alexandria, and ended its days as a member of the Lycian League.
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Timeline
A Story of Twenty-Five Centuries
From the Late Bronze Age to the ongoing excavations — the long path of a harbour city on the frontier of Caria and Lycia.
13th c. BCE
Hittite Traces
The toponym Kuwakuwaluwanta in the Yalburt inscription of Tudḫaliya IV may be an early form of Kalynda. The name likely comes from a Luwian/Carian linguistic stratum.
480 BCE
Salamis & Artemisia
Kalyndan ships served in Xerxes' fleet. Fleeing an Athenian pursuer, Queen Artemisia I of Halicarnassus rammed and sank the ship of the Kalyndan king Damasithymus. Xerxes, watching from shore: "My men have become women, my women men."
5th c. BCE
Member of the Delian League
Herodotus (1.172) describes the sharp Kaunos-Kalynda border through a ritual. The city appears in the Athenian tribute lists as a member of the Delian League, paying one talent.
3rd c. BCE
Within the Ptolemaic Network
The Zenon archives place Kalynda on the Ptolemaic-Alexandrian trade route. A Ptolemaic garrison was stationed here, and an annual Artemis festival — Kipranda — was held in its territory.
188 / 168-164 BCE
Rhodes ↔ Kaunos — Polybius 31.5
Assigned to Rhodes after Apamea, the city was governed as a demos of Kaunos in 168-164. When Kalynda rebelled, help was first sought from Knidos; when that proved insufficient Rhodes lifted the siege, and the Roman Senate confirmed Rhodes' authority.
1st c. BCE — 43 CE
Lycian League & Rome
Regaining brief independence, the city turned to the Lycian League. It became part of the Roman province of Lycia in 43 CE, named on the Stadiasmus Patarensis with links to Telmessos, Kaunos and Lyrnai.
141 CE
Opramoas' Aid
After the great earthquake, Kalynda appears among the cities aided by the benefactor Opramoas. The city slowly waned; in the Byzantine period its bishopric was subordinated to Kaunos.
1840 — 1950
Modern Rediscovery
Richard Hoskyn (1840), Ludwig Ross (1844), Gilbert Davies (1895) and George Bean (1946-50) noted the rocky hill near Dalaman. The identification of Asar Tepe as Kalynda grew — a sealed inscriptional proof is still awaited.
2022 —
Active Excavation & Arsinoe Stele
Directed by the Fethiye Museum with scientific guidance from Akdeniz University, the excavations have yielded Rhodian-Knidian amphora stamps, Hellenistic lamps, and — most importantly — **a votive stele dedicated to Arsinoe II Philadelphos**: the strongest epigraphic support yet for identifying Asar Tepe as Kalynda.
“
Apart from the territory of Kalynda, each could sow only what fell to his own share.
Herodotus · Histories I.172
“My men have become women, my women men.”
Xerxes · Battle of Salamis, 480 BCE (of Artemisia)
25+
Centuries of History
3 km
East of Dalaman
480 BCE
Served at Salamis
2022
Excavations Renewed
Traces of the City
What Has Been Found
Ruins that have waited patiently on Asar Tepe — each a window into Kalynda's daily, ritual and commercial life.
Of Archaic Origin
Fortification Walls
Multi-course stone walls, some descending to the archaic period, reinforced by towers and gates atop the hill's natural defences.
Archaic → Hellenistic
Carian-Lycian Synthesis
Rock-Cut Tombs
Monumental tombs in the area show traces of both Carian tradition and Lycian house-front façades — fitting for a border city.
4th-2nd c. BCE
The City's True Goddess
Coins of Artemis
Three bronze series attributed to Kalynda depict not Zeus or an eagle but the huntress Artemis and her symbols — deer, bow, torch. Civic striking likely begins in the early 1st c. BCE.
Ö. Tatar, Gephyra 29 · 2025
Hellenistic Trade Network
Amphora Stamps
Of 26 amphora stamps found in 2022-23, 20 are Rhodian and 5 Knidian; 85% date to the 3rd century BCE — proof that the Ptolemaic-Rhodian trade route ran through Kalynda.
Dündar, Gephyra 26 · 2023
Annual Festival of Artemis
Sanctuary of Kipranda
A cult site in Kalyndan territory known from the Zenon archives. Its exact location is still unidentified — perhaps the next great discovery lies here.
Unknown location · open question
Şerefler Mah. · Asar Tepe
Şerefler, Dalaman · Muğla · 36°46'N 28°48'E
Visit Guide
Plan Your Journey
Kalynda sits on a rocky elevation called Asar Tepe in Şerefler neighbourhood, about 3 km east of Dalaman town centre. The path is mostly clear but the sun is strong — go early, and bring water and a hat.
Hours
Open-air site
Sunrise to sunset
Entrance
Free of charge
Limits may apply during excavation
Hike
Moderate · ~2 hours
Sturdy shoes required
Best Season
March — June
September — November
Access
12 km from Dalaman Airport
3 km east of Dalaman centre
Nature
Olive groves, maquis, pine
Mind snakes and scorpions in summer
Follow the Science
To follow the excavations up close, see the Akdeniz University team's Instagram account @kalindakazisi. For official information, the Fethiye Museum Directorate is the authority.