 Gate of Donuktaş | |
  Donuktaş Shown within Turkey | |
| Location | Tarsus,Mersin Province,Turkey |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 36°54′59″N34°54′12″E / 36.91639°N 34.90333°E /36.91639; 34.90333 |
| Type | Temple |
| Length | 98 m (322 ft) |
| Width | 43 m (141 ft) |
| Height | 8 m (26 ft) |
| Site notes | |
| Archaeologists | Nezahat Baydur Winfried Held |
| Condition | In ruins |
Donuktaş (literally “Pale Stone”) is aRoman temple inTarsusilçe (district) ofMersin Province, southern Turkey.
Donuktaş is in the urban fabric of Tarsus. It is to the east of other historical places of Tarsus and to the north of Turkish state highwayD.400. Its distance toMersin is about 29 km (18 mi).
The first written document about Donuktaş dates back to 1545. According to a member of theVenetianBarbaro family, who was theBailo of Constantinople, Donuktaş was a palace. But according to later accounts in the 19th century, it is amausoleum. The French historianVictor Langlois (1829–1869) in his bookVoyage Dans la Cilicie et Dans la Montagnes du Taurus 1852-1853 described Donuktaş as the mausoleum ofSardanapalus (612-605 BC), the lastAssyrian king. The German archaeologistRobert Koldewey (1855–1925) supported this assertion. British orientalistWilliam Burckhardt Barker (1810?–1856) on the other hand, believed that Donuktaş is a mausoleum of another king. However, during the systematic exploration between 1982 and 1992 by Turkish archaeologist Nezahat Baydur, Donuktaş was defined as a temple built in the 2nd century, during theRoman Empire, much later than theNeo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 BC).[1] Originally, It was a temple ofSandon, an ancientHittite deity. Later, Sandon was identified with theRoman godJupiter, and the temple became a Temple of Jupiter.[2] The exploration continued after 2007 by the German archaeologist Winfried Held.[3]
The building is huge construction without a roof. It has a rectangular form oriented in northeast to southwest direction. Its length is 98 m (322 ft) and the width is 43 m (141 ft). It is surrounded by 6.5 m (21 ft)-thick walls. The walls are about 8 m (26 ft) high. The building material isRoman cement.[2] Although the wall is presently naked, it was originally covered by marble.
