North and the modern village of Kasaba

Although not formally a part of the objectives for this year, a brief visit to the northern bank of the important tributary, the Merzumen, at this point served not only to confirm Wagner’s report of the piers of a major Roman road 300 metres above the junction with the Euphrates, but also to identify piers of a second ancient bridge constructed with rather smaller stone blocks a further 100m inland and remnants of a third crossing - possibly an aqueduct - again 100m further on. The latter “remnants” consist of a substantial amorphous mass of concreted masonry at the point where it is currently possible to cross the Merzumen by stepping stones (if you are lucky!).The very large medieval castle at Rumkale is a fascinating subject for a study in itself. The position and location - between the Euphrates and the green and luscious valley of the Merzumen (ancient name = Marsyas) are splendid and possibly both the most pleasant and impressive in the whole valley. The Roman road is discussed above, but the writer was also able to find the course of an aqueduct, still in use and partly open, partly in tunnels along the north-west bank of the Merzumen; it appears to be fed by springs under the mountain to the North and the modern village of Kasaba. The mukhtar of this village declared that the aqueduct had formerly crossed the Merzumen to Rumkale itself and then ...

Gönderen: omerfarukaslan

Yorumlayan: talha273 tarih 17.11.2004
thank you for this article...