HYPOGEA 2017 - PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF SPELEOLOGY IN ARTIFICIAL CAVITIES - CAPPADOCIA , MARCH 6/8 2017 Cave Dwellings of Euphrates River (Southeast Turkey) Ali YAMAC * * OBRUK Cave Research Group, Acikhava Apt. 16/7, Nisantasi, Istanbul, Turkey, ayamac@gmail.com Abstract As OBRUK Cave Research Group, we began to search cave dwellings on the bank of Euphrates River, in south-eastern Turkey, during April 2013. Our research is between Halfeti and Gumuskaya villages. There are two dams on Euphrates on the region: Ataturk Dam, 145 km north of Halfeti, and Birecik Dam, 55 km south of Halfeti. Because of this second dam, the water level of Euphrates raised 20 meters, with a width up to 500 meters in some areas. In this region the river is flowing through the Eocene limestones, and there are hundreds of dwellings carved in those soft limestone walls. Those structures are mostly to the north of Halfeti, reaching up to Gumuskaya Village, near Ataturk Dam. Especially 2 km north of Halfeti, on both banks of Euphrates there are tens of artificial cavities around Rum Kale. Rum Kale, also known as “Hromgla”, was mentioned in Assyrian scripts and was the capital of Armenian Church for 90 years until 1293, when conquered by the Mamluks. We are planning to survey the whole rock settlements within this 35 km stretch of Euphrates, from Halfeti up to Gumuskaya Village. In addition to cave dwelling villages, we had explored and surveyed several underground churches in this area. During our survey project, each artificial cavity has been marked by GPS, photographed and surveyed. Till today, four explorations have been realized and a total of 73 rock settlements in 64 different points, three of which are church or monasteries have been found, 33 of which have been surveyed and mapped. In this presentation, in addition to the surveys of previously unknown cave dwellings and underground churches, the major aim of this project will be explained in detail. Keywords: Euphrates, Halfeti, cave dwellings, Turkey 1. INTRODUCTION Urfa Province of south-eastern Turkey (Fig. 1) has a worldwide importance due to its long history. Urfa (antique name Edessa) is a settlement frequented since the prehistoric times. Figure 1: Location map showing the general area of exploration The Euphrates River, flowing in the west borders of this province, is historically probably one of the most important rivers in the world. However, five dams have been built on this river since 1975. Today, the lake of every dam on the river extends nearly to the previous dam wall upvalley. Only one third of Euphrates, which length is 1.260 km in Turkey, is in natural flow, the rest consist nowadays of dam lakes. Figure 2: Various rock dwelling localities in the working area The five dam lakes built on the Euphrates River submerged hundreds of villages and ancient settlements. Despite several rescue excavations in many ancient settlements before the constructions, there is an incredibly huge loss in historical heritage. After the construction of the Birecik Dam in 2000, the level of the river in this