The Rampart of Yerkapi - Hattusas - Bogazkale, Turkey
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puczmeloun
N 40° 00.359 E 034° 36.925
36T E 637882 N 4429670
The highest and southernmost point in the city of Hattusas fortifications
Waymark Code: WMFDH4
Location: Türkiye
Date Posted: 10/02/2012
Views: 3
The highest and southernmost point in the city fortifications is marked by the articificial ridge of Yerkapi. The city wall, which arches up toward the summit from the Lion Gate in the west and the King's Gate in the east, crowns the ridge, with the Sphinx Gate located just at the center.
The great rampart here takes its name Yerkapi ( = gate in the earth) from the only postern which you can actually walk through today in Hattusha. Until now 12 such tunnels under the fortification walls of Hattusha are known. The function of these posterns remains open to interpretation. They may have been used as sally ports, through which one could run out and attack the besieging enemy from the rear.
The great rampart (250 m long on a foundation a good 80 m across) stands some 30 m high on the exterior, which was-in contrast to the interior-paved with a layer of stone. At either end of the stone-covered slope a steep flight of steps led up to the crown, still another proof that this wall was not constructed mainly on the principle of defense. Well trained soldiers, moreover, could certainly have clambered up the slope here at a run; it rises at an angle of only 35 degrees. At any rate, an enemy force would not likely have chosen to storm the city from here when only a short distance to the right and the left the wall below the defense circuit was considerably lower. The paved rampart must have been erected primarily as an architectural monument, a manifestation of the city's might and/or religious significance. From afar the high ridge with its crown of city walls and towers would have gleamed white in the landscape, a impressive landmark to travelers and guests approaching from the south.
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