Nisan Köknar

Identifying Seascape in Western Anatolia: Visibility Analysis of the
Late Bronze Age Burials

This paper focuses on the application of GIS (Geographical Information Systems) as a
proxy for identifying maritime landscape and networks in western Anatolia, using the
cemetery case studies at the coastal sites of Panaztepe, Kömürburnu, Müsgebi,
Değirmentepe, Beşiktepe, and a rock-cut tomb in Pilavtepe. Burial sites are remains
demonstrating how the geology of coastal sites can affect their cultural landscape and
eligibility for sea trade. The topography of the region in the Late Bronze Age allowed more
convenient access through seafaring, even when it comes to ports within the same side of
the Aegean Sea. These cemeteries were constructed on high hills and rocky slopes and
share a mixed cultural character due to the diverse relations with the surrounding
environment and settlements. Their shared hybrid culture remains the same even in the
absence of settlements. Different methodologies are applied for questioning one or all
ritualistic, territorial, and navigational reasons behind the locations and layout plans of
these cemeteries. GIS is applied to analyze if visibility had a critical impact in deciding the
specific location of the cemeteries’ organization. This analysis provides clearer
understanding by testing roles of these reasons in possible geographical patterns between
the location of the sites, natural harbors, and the cemeteries. Moreover, this might
contribute to our understanding of the way people organize and connect through the
maritime environment. It is important, therefore, to consider burial grounds at coastal sites
within the framework of the maritime cultural landscape.