Tece Castle

Tece Castle
Mersin Province, Turkey
Tece Castle from the southwest
Tece Castle
Coordinates	36°43′00″N 34°27′00″E / 36.7166667°N 34.45°E
Type	Fortress
Site history
Built by	Roman Empire (?)
Materials	Stone
Demolished	Most of it

Tece Castle is a castle ruin in Mersin Province, Turkey

Geography

The castle is in the Tece suburb of Mersin at 36°42′N 34°27′E / 36.700°N 34.450°E. Its distance to Mersin city center is about 20 kilometres (12 mi). Although it is close to Turkish state highway it is difficult to visit the castle by motor vehicle because it is situated in the citrus plantation.

History

There is no record about the origin of the castle. But judging from the architecture, it was probably a late Roman or a Byzantine castle. It was a low altitude castle and it was built to control the road running parallel to Mediterranean Sea coast. It was also used by the Crusades and Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia during which the castle underwent renovation.^[1]

Archaeology

The area within the now demolished ramparts is 1,560 square metres (16,800 sq ft). Most of the buildings are demolished. The only partially standing building is a three storey donjon. The length of the east wall is 9.6 metres (31 ft) and the height is 12 metres (39 ft). The length of the northern wall is 11.5 metres (38 ft) and the height is 13 metres (43 ft). The width of outer wall is 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in).^[1] The masonary of the inner walls is of ashlar blocks and the outer walls is of the bossage blocks.^[2]

References

1. Hasan Buyruk Kafkas University bulletin (Turkish)
2. Mersin Governorship: Mersin Ören Yerleri Kaleleri Müzeleri ("Mersin Ruins, castles and museums"), ISBN 978-605-4196-07-4 p.65