Gephyra (May 2004)
The System of Roman Roads and Settlements in the Lycian Milyas
Abstract
The System of Roman Roads and Settlements in the Lycian MilyasThe authors present a detailed description of the topography of the Milyas upland with its minor and major settlements connected with one another by a road system. Owing to the geographical conditions in the Milyas with two lakes which took up a large portion of the upland and with extensive marshland between these lakes, there had never been a centrally located, powerful polis. Instead, there was a number of minor towns, namely Choma and Podalia, which are known from coin legends and literary sources, and Kopoda, Akarassos and Soklai mentioned in the Stadiasmus of Patara. Under Claudius these five towns were connected by a circular road which was, in some areas, elaborately built with big, heavy stone blocks because of marshy terrain. For example, the 7.5 km stretch of road from Choma to Podalia saw the highest construction input not only in the Milyas but also in the whole of Lycia. According to the authors, the fact that the Romans built elaborate, wide roads in some areas of the Milyas is due partly to the topographical conditions and partly to the importance of the upland as a transit area to the northern provinces.
