The Girmeler (Gebeler / Gebelen) Cave, is located on the high rocky terraces opening to Eşen Stream (Ksanthos) Valley, in the west part of ancient Lykia, 5 km northwest to ancient Tlos.The cave site of Girmeler (prev. Gebeler)is named after the nearby village. The Girmeler settlements site was discovered by staff members of the Fethiye Museum only after it was severely damaged by the by bulldozers in 1985. About 7 m of the mound was entirely damaged.
Cave A . The occupation of the cave started with the hunter-gatherer culture in Epipaleolithic-Mesolithic Periods. In the Early Chalcolithic Period there was a mound-shaped settlement in the flat area in front of the cave. Some burnt human skeletons were found in the layer on the west of this place and bone necklace, goddess figurine and god idol. This burials s dated to the second half of 8th millennium BC. After a long abandonment, the site was used in the Hellenistic and Roman periods probably as a bath in connection with a nearby hot thermal spring.
Cave B. On the layer at the entrance of this cave remains traces of the occupation dated to Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods ,
Cave C. Inside the pit on the plain area between the entrances of A and C were found potsherds and flint flakes.
See:
- T. Takaoğlu, T. Korkut , B. Erdoğu, G. Işınc Documenta Praehistorica, Vol. 41, Dec. 2014, pp. 111-8,
- Girmeler Settlements-http://www.tloskazilari.com/en/girmeler.html
- Girmeler (Gebeler) Magarasi Önü-http://tayproject.org/TAYages.fm$Retrieve?CagNo=13078&html=ages_detail_e.html&layout=web
- Girmeler (Gebeler) Mağarası Önü-The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
- Ralf Becks and Bilge Ayça Polat Becks, Girmeler Mağarası-Lykia'da Bir Kalkolitik Dönem Yerleşimi - Girmeler Cave - A Chalcolithic Settlement In Lycia, Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 5 (8), 2013, 166-183