Necropoleis from the territory of Hierapolis in Phrygia: New data from archaeological surveys

This paper presents some results of research activities conducted during the 2005-2008 fieldwork campaigns in the ancient territory of Hierapolis in Phrygia (Denizli Province, south-western Turkey). The research aimed at reconstructing the ancient topography and settlement patterns of the territory (previously not studied) from the Prehistoric times to the Ottoman age. During the archaeological surveys in the study area (the north-eastern sector of the Lykos valley and the Uzunp?nar plateau), some ancient villages of different dimensions in use between the Hellenistic age and the Roman Imperial period (some also in the Byzantine period) were identified and studied. In some cases, even their necropoleis were identified and documented, recording the types of tombs (tumuli, chambers, sarcophagi, chamosoria, pit graves) and their location in relation to the settlement area and the topography of the site. The collected funerary evidence is important new documentation to add to our knowledge of the necropoleis in ancient rural villages of southern Phrygia. It is also very interesting to note the presence, in some necropoleis, of isolated Hellenistic tumuli that could have belonged to the dominant classes of the rural communities, which had adopted the funerary typologies of the urban aristocracy.