Southern Podium

Southern Podium

View looking south at the foundation for the southern podium on which a part of the Imperial Temple stood.  The foundation is made of Roman Concrete (opus caementicium) with stone aggregate added.  It was probably covered with marble and/or limestone slabs.


The Donuktash (Turkish for “frozen stones”) is a very mysterious structure that is located on a back street in Tarsus.  This massive structure is apparently the foundation of a large, second century A.D., Roman Temple—probably dedicated to the Roman Emperor Hadrian (r. AD 117–138).   The exterior core of the temple remains, as do some significant interior foundations—for the marble and stone facing have been stripped away during the centuries.