In the bay of Loryma, there are a lot of ancient ruins. The most important and easiest to discern are those of the so-called Harbour Fortress and the two settlements in Loryma and on Asar Dağ.

Fig. 4. View from Asar Dağ across the bay. In the middle, to the right of the entrance to the bay, is the Harbour Fortress located. In the background the shadowy figure of Rhodes

Harbour Fortress: The well-preserved ruins of the so-called Harbour Fortress are located on the southern shore of the bay of Loryma, just above its entrance (Fig 4). The approx. 334 m long and 36 m wide fortress has a circuit wall about 2.5 m thick which still stands up to a height of 6 m (Fig. 5). Along the defensive wall, there are 11 towers, including two circular ones, located at the western and eastern ends. All towers are provided with entrances at ground level.

Fig. 5. View across the Harbour Fortress from the east, with the fully preserved door

With few exceptions, nearly every tower displays loop-holes, but only one of them, located at the northern side, has a “window”, reaching from floor to ceiling level (Fig. 6). In this tower, a catapult had probably been erected. Out of several posterns, only one in the southeast of the fortress has been fully preserved. The Harbour Fortress was probably built at the beginning of the 3rd c. B.C. on behalf of Rhodes which is indicated by some inscriptions inside and outside of the fortress. Only a few years before, Rhodes had overcome the siege by Demetrius Poliorcetes which had been started in 305/304 B.C. in the bay of Loryma. In the Early Byzantine Period, a three-naved, about 14 m long and 10 m wide basilica was built in the western part of the fortress.

Fig. 6. 'Floor to ceiling window' in one of the Harbour Fortresses towers

Settlement of Loryma: The settlement is located on a flat hill at the northern end of the bay. In the north-west, it is surpassed by an acropolis hill (Fig. 7). The settlement is surrounded by a bivalve circuit wall which is still up to 2.5 m high and once had 6 posterns.

Fig. 7. View of the settlement of Loryma with circuit wall (right) and followed by the acropolis (left)

As additional defensive elements, there’s a tower on the north-eastern wall, being still about 3.5 m high (Fig. 8), and probably a bastion at the south-eastern corner. The circuit wall has two phases, an archaic and a classical one which can be distinguished by the masonry; the classical wall follows the course of the archaic one for the most part (Fig. 9).

Fig. 8. Postern (foreground) and tower (background) at the north side of the settlement

Fig. 9. Detail of the circuit wall with part of the Archaic phase (background) and the Classical phase (foreground)

Within the settlement, traces of nearly 50 small dwellings have been found; in the centre, there was a small square where two public buildings possibly were located. The acropolis rising high above the settlement has its own fortification with two phases as well (Fig. 10).

Fig. 10. Part of the acropolis fortification which serves also as terrace wall

In the extreme north-west of the acropolis, a nearly rectangular plateau lies which is interpreted as a tower fundament, but this is debatable. Because of its masonry, it could have been built in Late Classical or Early Hellenistic times (Fig. 11).

Fig. 11. View from the acropolis across the bay with the Classical-Hellenistic Plateau in the foreground

Other findings: West to the settlement extends a necropolis. Here you can find numerous stepped bases, once bearing the funerary monuments (Fig. 12). They are typical for the Carian Chersonese. In the surroundings of the settlement, several sanctuaries can be identified.

Fig. 12. Some typical Carian Chersonesian stepped-bases in the necropolis of Loryma

They were, among others, dedicated to Apollo, Artemis Pergaia or Kybele, just to name a few (Fig. 13). All sanctuaries are scarcely preserved and only identified by inscriptions. At the edges of the plains, the ruins of numerous Hellenistic farmsteads can be found. In the plains, the remains of 6 churches from Byzantine times have been preserved. About 800 m northwest of the settlement, lie the remains of an early fortification.

Fig. 13. A rock sanctuary with a niche dedicated to Kybele

The settlement on Asar Dağ: No longer in the immediate area of the bay, but on a mountain called Asar Dağ, about 1.5 km to the northeast of Loryma, there is another settlement. It could not be identified with any of the settlements handed down for the peninsula. The settlement is surrounded by a strong circuit wall; due to its isolated position, it has been preserved up to 4 m high (Fig. 14).

Fig. 14. View of the circuit wall of the settlement on Asar Dağ

As it has not been object of intensive archaeological research, no further information can be provided. From the settlement on Asar Dağ, there is an open view of the surrounding mountains, plateaus and the sea on both sides of the Carian Chersonese (Fig. 15).

Fig. 15. View from Asar Dağ across the environment with the island of Symi in the background