Foss Clive. Survey of Medieval Castles of Anatolia I: Kütahya

BAR Publishing, 1985. — 212 p. — (BAR International Series 261/British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara Monograph 7).The present volume inaugurates a new series, the publications of the Survey of Medieval Castles of Anatolia, sponsored by the British Institute of Archaeology, Ankara. The project was conceived in 1981 by David French, Director of the Institute, as a survey, with plans and photographic record, of selected Byzantine castles in central Anatolia. His profound knowledge of the country had revealed that there were many castles, few of them surveyed. Much impressive work, of course, had already been done. The studies of A. M. Schneider of Nicaea, Albert Gabriel of Bursa and eastern Anatolia, W. Muller- Wiener of Ionia, and H. Hellenkemper of Cilicia, along with the publications of individual excavations, had established a methodology and provided a base and model for further work. Yet Dr. French recognised that much remained to be done, and asked me to direct a new survey.
The project began at Kiitahya in 1982. We chose this castle for the first stage because it seemed to ofer all that could be desired: it was large and in relatively good condition; it plainly had several periods of construction; its systems of defence appeared relatively sophisticated; it had a place in the historical record so that its remains could probably be correlated with the written sources; and it had not been studied. A survey here, it seemed, would produce a methodology suitable for dealing with other castles, however complex, and for dating remains which had no history. As it turned out, the walls ofered more problems than we had imagined, and the results exceeded our expectations.
After the first season, the project underwent a significant change, reflected in the present volume. The survey had been conceived as a study of individual monuments. It soon became apparent, however, that the castles would gain in interest and value when considered in a regional context, which would include all medieval fortifications, of whatever size or nature. They in turn would benefit from being studied together with the major monuments which might have served as models for their development. A regional approach would make it possible to include small or ruined forts, perhaps not worth studying in themselves, whose ruins might be on the way to disappearance.
The present survey, therefore, proposes to deal with the medieval fortifications of Anatolia by regions, which may most practically be defined by the boundaries of the modern Turkish provinces, or vilayets. In each region, we attempt to study all relevant fortifications constructed or rebuilt between the third and fifteenth centuries. The majority of these will naturally be Byzantine, but castles or walls of the Seljuks, the emirates, or the early Ottomans will also be included, leaving aside only those which were founded in the fifteenth century or later. These, by reflecting the age of gunpowder, present diferent problems and are no longer medieval