İskilip Rock Tomb

İskilip Historic Buildings October 2010

The İskilip Rock Tomb is the most striking of the rock tombs located on the southern and southeastern slopes of İskilip Castle, which sits atop a natural rock mass in the center of the İskilip district of Çorum. In this area, several tombs are carved into various points of the rocky hillside, and these are among the important remains that shed light on İskilip’s settlement history in antiquity.

History

Rock tombs are based on the tradition of burying the dead in chambers and burial places carved directly into the bedrock, a practice with a very long history in Anatolia. The examples in İskilip date to the Roman period. In the interior regions of Anatolia, such monumental tombs carved into rocky slopes near cities were highly visible burial structures that may have been built for the local notables or wealthy families of the era. That İskilip was an important settlement and transit point throughout history is evident from the surrounding remains and from accounts of İskilip’s history.

Architecture and Decoration

The rock tomb to the southeast has a monumental façade arrangement. The tomb has a rectangular entrance with two columns. On the capitals of the columns, a lion figure is depicted in a seated position. These figures form an important part of the architectural decoration carved into the rock.

Within the triangular pediment between the columns are two more lion figures, facing each other in a reclining posture and winged. The lion motif is a decorative element frequently encountered in tomb architecture in antiquity, symbolizing protection and power. For this reason, the tomb’s façade is considered a particularly fine example among the region’s rock tombs, both for its architectural composition and its figural decoration.

The burial chamber has a square plan and contains two funerary klines (bench-shaped beds carved into the rock on which the deceased was placed). These klines show that the tomb was designed for more than one burial and provide information about the burial practices of the era.

Location and Visiting

The rock tombs, situated at the foot of the castle that dominates the İskilip town center, form a whole that can be visited together with the castle. The proximity of the tombs to the castle allows visitors to see both İskilip’s medieval defensive structure and its ancient remains along the same route.

Those who wish to explore İskilip from a historical and cultural perspective can, in addition to the rock tomb and İskilip Castle, also see other important structures in the district. As a similar structure complementing the region’s ancient heritage, the Kapılıkaya Monumental Rock Tomb in Osmancık, along with the Ulu (Great) Mosque and the Hittite Bridge that make up İskilip’s historic fabric, are among the other places that can be visited.

ℹ️ This article has been enriched with additional historical context and editing over the original archive content.