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Emirgazi Altars

Five altars made of black basalt have been found at Emirgazi in secondary locations around 1904 and 1906. Four of the round altars (A, B, C, D) apparently have the same hieroglyphic Luwian inscription. The fifth piece (EMIRGAZI V) in rectangular shape, heavily damaged by secondary usage in later centuries, also has a text with similar context. A sixth piece (EMIRGAZI VI) obtained in 1953 in Emirgazi from a local villager is the corner fragment of another rectangular block which has partially visible single line inscription on its two vertically meeting sides.

The text on the altars refers to steles (which may imply the altars themselves) dedicated to a divine mountain (Mt. Sarpa). Hawkins suggests the mentioned mountain might be Arisama Dað considering the proximity of the location where altars were found, and adds that a second mountain referred to as "Axe Mountain" in the text may be Karaca Dað to the south. King Tudhaliya (IV) is mentioned in the text as the dedicator, therefore they date to second half of the 13th century BCE. Altars and the rectangular block are currently in Istanbul Museum. The sixth fragment is probably in Konya Museum.

Click on the pictures for larger images.

EMIRGAZI A
Emirgazi A - B.Bilgin Emirgazi A - B.Bilgin Emirgazi A - T.Bilgin Emirgazi A - T.Bilgin Emirgazi A - drawing by J.D. Hawkins
EMIRGAZI B
Emirgazi B - B.Bilgin Emirgazi B - B.Bilgin Emirgazi B - B.Bilgin Emirgazi B - B.Bilgin Emirgazi B - drawing by J.D.Hawkins
EMIRGAZI C
Emirgazi C - E.Masson Emirgazi C - drawing by E.Masson
EMIRGAZI D
Emirgazi C - E.Masson Emirgazi D - drawing by E.Masson
Altar(?) V
Altar V, A Side - B.Bilgin Altar V, A Side - B.Bilgin Altar V, B Side - B.Bilgin Altar V - drawing by E.Masson



Literature:
Alp, S. "Eine weitere Hieroglypheninschrift aus Emirgazi," FsOtten, 1973: 11-13 and fig. 1a-c. (EMIRGAZI VI)
Hawkins, J. D. "Appendix 2. EMIRGAZI altars," in The hieroglyphic inscription of the Sacred Pool Complex at Hattusa (Sudburg), StBoT Beiheft 3, 1995: 86-102.
Hawkins, J. D. "Tudhaliya the Hunter," FsDeRoos, 2006: 49-76.
Masson, E. "Quelques lectures nouvelles sur les inscriptions hiéroglyphiques louvites d'Emirgazi," FsSzemerényi, Amsterdam, 1979: 537-47, Fig.3.
Masson, E. "Les inscriptions louvites hiéroglyphiques d'Emirgazi," Journal des Savants, 1979: 3-49.
Woudhuizen F. C. "The Luwian Hieroglyphic Inscriptions of the Emirgazi Stone Altars," in Ancient West and East v.1, 2002: 67-86.

Image sources:
Bora Bilgin, 2006
Tayfun Bilgin, 2012
John D. Hawkins, 2006.
Emilia Masson, 1979.