TÜRKÇE
Orthostats with animal-headed beings
A couple of limestone orthostats with the similar reliefs of a pair of animal-headed beings were found in the area southwest of the Lion Gate. The figures are shown with weapons over their shoulders and a plant in their hands extended over a stylized tree. Similar to the winged genie orthostats, the figures and plants likely have ritualistic/apotropaic meanings. The one with the lion-headed beings was found in the mound of Arslantepe prior to regular excavations in 1930s, and is 0.70 m in height and 1 m in width. The one with bird-headed beings was unearthed in 2010 during the official excavations and is 0.68 m in height and 0.82 m in width. Along with the three-sided orthostat and the winged genie orthostats, all were once probably used in the decoration of an earlier gate structure that date to around the 12th to 11th centuries BCE. The earlier-found orthostat is in the Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ankara, and the latter is in the Malatya Museum.
