Documentation of Atranos Castle Tower Remains
Selahattin Ersoy, Zahide Sena Güneş KayaOrhaneli is a district in the south of Bursa with a mountainous geography, founded by Emperor Hadrianus under the name Hadrianoi (ad Olympum) in the 2nd century. It came under the control of the Ottoman Principality in 1325 and continued to be called Atranos. The Atranos Castle belonging to the Eastern Roman Empire was destroyed after the Ottoman conquest. Today, only the remains of two towers and foundations of other towers in between these two towers and the foundation remains of the walls of this castle have been found. No conservation work has been done or no protection measures have been taken for the castle, which was declared a 3rd-degree archaeological site by the authorities in 2014. The remains of towers, which are left extremely vulnerable to environmental conditions, are rapidly disappearing. Within the scope of this study, surveying and documentation of the remains were carried out with the help of a laser scanner and a drone. Documentation studies include point cloud data obtained from scanning and orthophotos obtained from this data, as well as material analysis and damage conditions on the remains. By potential future archaeological excavations and possible restoration, curiosity in the academic and local environment will be aroused, and the site will be a potential attraction point for tourists ultimately leading to benefits for the local economy.
Atranos Kalesi Burç Kalıntılarının Belgelenmesi
Selahattin Ersoy, Zahide Sena Güneş KayaBursa ilinin güneyinde dağlık bir coğrafyaya sahip olan Orhaneli ilçesi 2. yüzyılda İmparator Hadrianus tarafından Hadrianoi (ad Olympum) adıyla kurulmuştur. 1325 yılında Osmanlı Beyliği kontrolüne geçen yerleşim Atranos adıyla anılmaya devam etmiş, Doğu Roma İmparatorluğu’na ait Atranos Kalesi ise fetihten sonra yıktırılmıştır. Günümüzde bu kalenin sadece iki burcuna ait kısmi kalıntılara ve bu iki burç arasındaki bazı burç temel kalıntıları ve sur duvar kalıntısına ulaşabilmektedir. 2014 yılında 3. derece arkeolojik sit alanı ilan edilen kalede herhangi bir koruma çalışması yapılmamış veya koruma önlemi alınmamıştır. Çevre koşullarına karşı savunmasız bırakılan kule kalıntıları hızla yok olmaktadır. Bu çalışma kapsamında lazer tarayıcı ve drone yardımıyla kalıntıların rölöve çalışmaları ve belgelemeleri yapılmıştır. Yapılan belgeleme çalışmaları tarama sonucu elde edilen nokta bulutu verisi ve bu veriden elde edilen ortofotoların yanı sıra, kalıntılar üzerindeki malzeme analizleri ve hasar durumlarını da içermektedir. Gelecekteki potansiyel arkeolojik kazılar ve olası restorasyon çalışmalarının akademik ve yerel ortamda merak uyandırması, alanın ziyaretçiler için bir cazibe merkezi hâline gelerek nihayetinde yerel ekonomiye fayda sağlaması umulmaktadır.
The four districts of Bursa, namely Orhaneli, Harmancik, Keles, and Buyukorhan form the mountain region of Bursa, and this area was the main part of the Feudal landlords of the Byzantine until the Atranos castle was taken over by the Ottomans during Orhan Beg times. Orhaneli is one of these four districts with mountainous geography in the south of Bursa and it was founded by Emperor Hadrianus under the name Hadrianoi (ad Olympum) in the 2nd century. It was taken under control of the Ottoman Principality in 1325 and the Atranos Castle belonging to the Eastern Roman Empire was destroyed after the Ottoman conquest. This region was called Atranos after the Ottoman conquest and continued to be called Atranos until the early days of the Turkish Republic.
The remains of Atranos castle are 2 km north of Orhaneli city center and these remains are in the vicinity of an open-mine field. No conservation work has been done or no protection measures have been taken for the castle, which was declared a 3rd-degree archaeological site by the authorities in 2014. Even though the region of the Atranos Castle remains was registered as a protected area by the Ministry of Culture, Bursa Regional Board for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, no further work had been pursued for the area. The remains of towers, which are left extremely vulnerable to environmental conditions, are rapidly disappearing. Comparison of the current state of the remains with the earlier photos is also supporting the continuous erosion of the remains. For this reason, a documentation study was carried out to determine the existing tower remains and the foundation line before any possible archaeological excavations. This is the first study as a documentation study of the area. Data for the documentation studies was obtained by laser scanning and drone scanning of the remains.
Atranos Castle, shaped according to the topography, was built on bedrock. It was observed that the main wall surrounding the castle was broken at many points according to the geographical features. However, the inability to clear the entire area of vegetation did not allow the identification of the remains, and therefore a precise site plan could not be obtained. During the earlier registration works, the area where the castle remains were located was marked as an isosceles trapezoidal area. The castle covers an area of approximately 150 meters in the north-south direction and 110 meters in the east-west direction. The two surviving tower remains of the castle, which were documented within the scope of the project discussed in this study, are located on the eastern wall running parallel to the highway. According to the findings of this east wall, Atranos Castle was fortified with circular towers located at about equal intervals on the corners and long wall surfaces. To obtain a precise castle plan and to produce an accurate restitution, the entire area with dense vegetation needs to be cleaned. After the cleaning, precise information about the castle walls can be obtained. The documentation of Atranos Castle within the scope of this project yielded the remains of two prominent tower remains on the eastern wall, the remains of two tower foundations, and partial remains close to the foundation of a body wall. About 25% of the two prominent towers are still standing and their inner and outer diameters are approximately 2.30 m and 6.80 m, respectively. The height of the remains of the castle was determined to be around 7.50-8.00 m from the lowest point. The fact that a straight line was detected at the upper points of the castle towers despite the vegetative formations and the calculations made based on the gaps of the decayed wooden beams show that the castle towers had a height approximately close to their current height in their original state. The rough masonry walls were built with mortar and supported with wooden beams that had not survived. The walls were filled with rubble stone. Although stone material is generally used, brick is also used occasionally. The brick material seems to have been placed not in a specific pattern but rather randomly.
Structural deterioration and material deterioration were observed in the remains of Atranos Castle. Structural deterioration is characterized by cracks and section loss in the tower wall. These are dangerous deteriorations that threaten the remains structurally. Comparing the photographs taken in 2019 around the site with the photographs taken in 2021, it is seen that erosion is effective even in a very short period. In 2003, the remains of wooden beams identified by the researchers also did not survive to date. As material deterioration, surface losses in the stone material, voids in the original masonry of the interior and exterior façade parts, stone-brick-wood material deficiencies, surface pollution like carbon accumulation and black crust formation, herbaceous and woody vegetative formations, and non-original additions were identified. In light of the damage assessments, any reconstruction recommendations were avoided, and it was emphasized that the tower remains should be reinforced to ensure their survival until detailed investigations begin.
The castle certainly has cultural and archaeological value, but it is disappearing. Its current condition needs to be revealed and brought to the agenda. In this way, it is aimed to arouse curiosity in the academic and local environment, to attract tourism and academic interest, and to increase economic mobility by contributing to local tourism. It is thought that the study has a high potential to open a new way for academic studies and may have an accelerating effect on the start of archaeological studies around the castle.
