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Kocaoğuz Stele

The stele was found about 50 km to the west of the city of Afyon at a location known as Kocaoğuz mound. It was re-used in a Roman time structure, thus the original location is unknown. The granite block is about 2 meters tall, 0.5 meter wide, 0.25 meter thick, and weighs about 800 kg. Below a winged sun disk, there is five-line inscription, which was published by S. Şahin and R. Tekoğlu. The first sentence tells about the conquest of a city or country by a prince but the name of the prince (Tarpa..?) and city/country (..mali) are not clear. The second sentence indicates that the prince has erected this stele for the Storm-god. Assuming that the stele originates from a nearby location, lack of Neo-Hittite period monuments in this region may suggest that this stele too dates to Empire period, although contrary opinions exist due to stylistic and contextual reasons. The sun-disk is unusual in shape in comparison to other Empire period representations and the person and place names are not known from Empire period written sources. It may be a product of the transition period during the 12th to 11th century BCE. The stele is currently in Afyon Museum.


Click on the pictures for larger images.

B. Bilgin, 2007 B. Bilgin, 2007 B. Bilgin, 2007 H. Ehringhaus, 2005



Literature:
Oreshko, R. "Hieroglyphic Inscriptions of Western Anatolia," Luwian Identities, 2013: 345–420 (386–400)
Şahin, S. ve R. Tekoğlu. "A Hieroglyphic Stele from Afyon Archaeological Museum," Athenaeum 91.2, 2003: 540–45.
(List of Abbreviations)

Image sources:
Bora Bilgin, 2007
Horst Ehringhaus. Götter, Herrscher, Inschriften. Mainz, 2005.