City Gates
In the surveys carried out so far, numerous gates, large and small, dating to various periods were identified and marked on the city map. The city gates of ancient Sillyon were of utmost importance as inferred from their locations in the city plan. Among these gates, that on the southwest slope of the city, named the Main City Gate, stands out. So much so that the entire street and transportation network of the city was determined according to it. The Main City Gate is like a triangulation point for urban planning. The important passages of the city are as follows:
Main City Gate
The Main City Gate, oriented in the northeast-southwest direction, is located where the ramp road leading to the Acropolis begins in the southwestern foot of the Acropolis. The structure was oriented as per the terrain, and it was built directly on strong bedrock. The gate is flanked by two square towers and has an inner courtyard larger than a half-circle bounded by two arc-shaped walls extending from the towers towards the centre. Access into the city is provided by a doorway located on the courtyard walls that join in the centre. This extraordinary complex structure is called the “Main City Gate” due to the facts that it is the largest entranceway on the outer circuit of walls surrounding the city and the only entrance to the city that allows both pedestrian and carriage circulation. Main City Gate of Sillyon was built in the second century BC. Sillyon’s Main City Gate was derived from the gates of Side and Perge and it had a square or rectangular courtyard in its early phase. During the Roman Imperial period, probably in the second century AD, and the rectangular courtyard left was replaced by an oval one. It can be said that the gate remained in use after the Roman Imperial period, even until its final abandonment in the seventeenth century, because the streets providing access to the Acropolis are connected only to this gate and this is the only main crossing point of the city.
Acropolis North Gate
The Acropolis North Gate is located on bedrock at the point where the Main Street starting from the Main City Gate connects to the Acropolis in the northwest and it is about 43 m south of Gate 4 and oriented in the northeast-southwest direction. The structure consists of a single hall, almost square, measuring 8.25 m x 7.40 m; it has a gateway opening out, a second entranceway opening into the Acropolis. It was built with dressed limestone blocks. The eastern wall of the Acropolis North Gate stands out with its interior and exterior arrangement. There are two niches and one doorway on this wall and the connection of the gate structure and the rock-cut area this door opens to is not clear. On the southern wall is the arched doorway opening into the Acropolis. The eastern part of the arched doorway has survived intact, while in the western part only the jamb remains. The layout of the Acropolis North Gate with facade details, wall technique and location suggests an ornate gate that provided access to the Acropolis rather than an active defence structure. Its location is the last stage providing access to the Acropolis, the heart of the city in each period, and reflects the same character as a symbolic boundary structure. Based on the construction technique, the structure was built in the second century AD as a monumental gate to provide access to the Acropolis and remained in use until the time the city was abandoned.
Acropolis South Gate
Oriented in north-south direction the structure is located on the southwestern slope of the Acropolis, about 45 m east of Bastion 1, on the Acropolis Street which starts from the Main City Gate and reaches the Acropolis from the south. The total height of the gate is 2.57 m, its width 2.09 m and its measurable depth is 0.85 m. The east wing has survived only to a height of 1.10 m while the west wing remained intact up to its top block. It is noted that the western wing has begun to break off from the wall it is attached. The gate was blocked off with irregular dry rubble, re-used blocks and coarse mortar with brick; the entranceway here was moved to the side. However, in the late period a postern with a width of 0.90 m and a depth of 60 m was built into the gate. The Acropolis South Gate was probably designed for those reaching the Acropolis from the south. It is understood that the structure was built in the Roman Imperial Period and remained in use in the Byzantine period.
