TÜRKÇE
Double bull statue base
The basalt double bull statue base was found in situ at the east side of the great staircase, on the terrace located right behind the so-called Great Lion Slab (see small image below). It is about 1.4 meters in width and 1.2 meters in length and very similar in style to the double bull base found by the temple entrance. In their original condition, the bulls probably had inlaid eyes and perhaps also horns. It is likely that once a statue of an ancestral king stood on top of it. Cup marks on the base suggest that ritual performances were conducted by the statue. Stylistically, it has been dated to the 9th century BCE. Although found intact, the heads of the bulls were broken in subsequent years, and eventually both of them ended up in the British Museum. The base itself is in the Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ankara.
