The Keşlik Stele is a

Neo-Hittite The states called Neo-Hittite, Syro-Hittite (in older literature), or Luwian-Aramean (in modern scholarly works) were Luwian and Aramean regional polities of the Iron Age, situated in southeastern parts of modern Turkey and northwestern parts o ...

monument from northern

Tyana Tyana, earlier known as Tuwana during the Iron Age, and Tūwanuwa during the Bronze Age, was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern Kemerhisar, Niğde Province, Central Anatolia, Turkey. It was the capital of a Luwia ...

, near

Niğde Niğde (; ; Hittite: Nahita, Naxita) is a city and is located in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Niğde Province and Niğde District.Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, which dates from the 8th century BC.

Discovery

The stele was discovered by Vural Sezer in the ''Bayındır Yaylası'' summer pasture of the village of Keşlik, a plateau north of

Altunhisar Altunhisar is a town in Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Altunhisar District.

Niğde Province Niğde Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in the southern part of Central Anatolia, Turkey. Its area is 7,234 km2, and its population is 365,419 (2022) of which 170,511 live in the city of Niğde. The population was 348,081 in 200 ...

and was installed in the Niğde Museum. The location of discovery was part of the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

Luwian Luwian (), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from ''Luwiya'' (also spelled ''Luwia'' or ''Luvia'') – ...

kingdom of

Tuwana Tyana, earlier known as Tuwana during the Iron Age, and Tūwanuwa during the Bronze Age, was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern Kemerhisar, Niğde Province, Central Anatolia Region, Central Anatolia, Turkey. It wa ...

. According to the testimony of local landowner Abdullah Tanik about the find, it was discovered by Turkish archaeologist Aykut Çınaroğlu in a 1962 survey. The stele had probably fallen from a hill which rises 25 m above the surrounding fields, since a depression has been found there which could have contained the pedestal of a stele. The monument is now in the

Niğde Archaeological Museum Niğde Archaeological Museum () is located in the centre of the Turkey, Turkish provincial capital, Niğde between ''Dışarı Cami Sokak'' and ''Öğretmenler Caddesi''. It contains objects found at sites in the surrounding area, including the tel ...

and has the inventory number 51.

Description

The brown

Basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

stele is 1.45 m high, 69 cm wide and about 27 cm thick. The upper surface is severely weathered and pock marked. The image depicts the weather god Tarhunzas facing right. He is dressed in a short kilt, a short-sleeved over-tunic with a wide belt, and thigh-high boots. His head is bearded and he has shoulder-length hair, covered by a horned helmet. His right hand is bent at his side and holds a

cluster of grapes In viticulture, the grape cluster (also bunch of grapes) is a fertilized inflorescence of the grapevine, the primary part of this plant used for food (grape leaves are also used in some culinary traditions). The size of the grape bunch greatly va ...

, while his left hand holds a bundle of corn ears. Thegrape cluster and the corn ears both grow up from the ground on either side of him. In the space to the right, between the figure and the corn ears,

John David Hawkins John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

detected nine lines of an inscription, which probably continued on the side of the stele. Because of the poor state of preservation of the stele, it was not legible. The image is very similar to the depiction of the weather god on the İvriz relief. As a result, the Keşlik stele is dated to the same time as it - the reign of King

Warpalawas II Warpalawas II () was a Luwian king of the Syro-Hittite kingdom of Tuwana in the region of Tabal who reigned during the late 8th century BC, from around to . Name Etymology The Luwian name was pronounced and was derived by adding the adjecti ...

of Tuwana (740-705).

Bibliography

* Vural Sezer. "Keşlik Steli." ''Anadolu'' 18, 1974 978 pp. 133–134 * Vural Sezer. "Bor-Keşlik Steli" ''Türk arkeoloji dergisi'' 24(2) 1977, pp. 147–148. * Dietrich Berges, Johannes Nollé. ''Tyana - Archäologisch-historische Untersuchungen zum südwestlichen Kappadokien''. Habelt, Bonn 2000, p. 103. *

: ''Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions.'' Vol. I: ''Inscriptions of the Iron Age.'' Part 2: ''Text. Amuq, Aleppo, Hama, Tabal, Assur Letters, Miscellaneous, Seals, Indices.'' (= ''Studies in Indo-European Language and Culture'' 8). de Gruyter, Berlin. 2000, . p. 531 No. X.51 Tbl. 305.

External links

Description on hittitemonuments.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keslik Stele Archaeological discoveries in Turkey Hittite art 8th-century BC steles Ancient Near East steles Luwian inscriptions Niğde Province Steles in Turkey 1962 archaeological discoveries Horned helmets