Dikilitas, Adiyaman

Dikilitas, Adiyaman

The Dikilitas tumulus, 6m/20ft high and 35m/115ft in diameter, located 60km/37 miles south-west of Adiyaman, is almost certainly the burial place of Mithridates II of Kommagene and his wife. Of the three original pairs of columns (from which the old name Sesonk = "three columns" was derived) only the southernmost survive complete with linking architrave. The outer chamber, with three tombs, is accessible. If driving there the best route, which even then is not without its problems, is via Sambayat, Besyol and Zormagora (4km/2.5 miles on foot).