Structural Analysis and Mapping of Historical Tombs in Ahlat District (Bitlis, Turkey)

Tombs are an important part of the architecture in the ancient civilizations. Ahlat is a district located in the Lake Van Basin and has hosted many civilizations with its rich historical texture, a large part of which consists of tombs. In this study, observational structural analyses were performed for fifteen different tombs in the Ahlat district. Because of the investigations carried out in the field, the geometrical locations of the ditches were determined and mapping was carried out for these tombs. Damages in the tombs caused by natural reasons were determined and information about the preservation measures to be taken was provided. Finite element models were created for two selected tombs with different architectural characteristics that may represent the other tombs.