Phrygian Expansion to the East: Evidence of Cult from Kerkenes Dağ

1 ForgeologicalbackgroundseeErcüment1998.

GEoFFrEyD.SummErS

PhrygianExpansiontotheEast

EvidenceofCultfromKerkenesDağ

ThEBaCKGrounD

onthenorthernedgeoftherollingplainsofCappadociaoneofthemostpromi-nentofaseriesofgranitebatholiths,theKerkenesDağ1,waschosenastheloca-tion for the foundation of an extraordinary new Iron age capital in, it wouldseem,thelatterpartoftheseventhortheveryearlysixthcenturyB.C.Kerkenesliesintheprovinceofyozgatsome15kilometrestothesoutheastofSorgun.Itdominatestheskylinefromalmosteverydirectionwhileitselfaffordingstunningviewsovertheundulatinglandscape.

Françoiseandmyselfrememberwithgreatfondnessthevisitsofuwe,togetherwithhiscolleaguesandstudents,bothtoKerkenesandtotheprojectoffice inmETu(middleEastTechnicaluniversity).ourunderstandingoftheculturalbackgroundtotheestablishment,growthanddestructionofthisIronagecitycontinuestoevolveasnewevidenceisproduced.uwehasbeenwitnesstosomeofthesedevelopments,andwehopethatthisdiscussionofbutoneaspectofPhryg-iancultatKerkeneswillremindhimofthestimulatingtimeswehadtogetherinTurkey,Tübingenandalsace.

KErKEnESDağ:ThECaPPaDoCIaGaTE

ThesevenkilometrecircuitofmightystonedefencesatKerkenesispiercedbysevenstronggates.oneofthesecitygates,thatatthesoutheast,iscalledbyustheCappadociaGatebecauseabroad,gentlyinclinedIronageroadleadsacrosstheplateautowardsthesnow-cappedpeakofErciyesDağhangingabovethesummerhazeonthefarhorizon.Clearanceofthisgatewasbegunin2000andcontin-uedoverthreeseasonswithadditionalworkinthegatepassagein2005.During

648 GEoFFrEyD.SummErS Bam37

thesecampaignsatallandsteeplyslopingexternalglaciswasfoundtoprotectnotonlythebaseofthetoweredgatebuttheentirecircuitofcitydefences.apartofthesix-meter-widegatepassagewasalsoemptiedofstonerubblethathadbeenthrowndownintoitimmediatelyaftertheburningofthecity.Inaddition,astartwasmadeontheremovalofrubblefromthegatechamber,thewallsofwhichare,liketheexternalglacis,preservedtoaheightofaroundfivemetres.Excavationinthechamberandpassagewashaltedwhenitbecameclearthatthewallswereinaprecariouscondition.Inthechamberlargefacestoneswerefoundtobecrackedand inclined inwards (Taf.1a),presumablyasa resultof theburningof largehorizontaltimberbeams2.Insidetherearportionofthegatepassage,againstthefaceoftheinnertower,asteppedmonumentcrownedbyasemi-iconicstelewasdiscovered.onlytheuppermostthreestepswereuncoveredbecauseoftheperil-ousconditionofthetowercorner.Theconditionofthesteleandthestepswaspoorasaresultofboththefireandthecollapseoftheupperstonewallingofthetower.muchoftheheadofthesteleismissing,presumablylyingshatteredinorbeneaththeunexcavatedfill(Taf.1b–c).

Iconographicrepresentationsofthisorsimilaridolswerecrudelycutintothefaceof twoadjacent sandstoneblocks in theotherwisegranitemasonryat thefrontcorneroftheglacisonthesouth-easternsideoftheCappadociaGate(Taf.2a).Sandstonewaspresumablyusedinthispositionbecauseoftheeasewithwhichitcouldbecuttofitthecornerwiththecorrectslopeoftheglacis.advantagewasthentakenofthesofterstonetoscratch,sometimesdeeplyandinclearlydifferenthands,graffitiofsteleandothermarks,includingperhapsoldPhrygianletters(Taf.2b–c).

The STepped MonuMenT

atotalofthreestepswereexposedbyexcavation.Thesteps,exceptforthetop-most,arebuiltfromunshaped,small,angular,granitestones.Therewasanarrowgap,nomorethanthesizeofafist,betweenthestepsandthefaceofthetowerwall. mud mortar may have been used in the construction, and would indeedhavebeenadvantageousinholdingthepoorlyfittedstonesinplace,butnonere-mained.Therewasconsiderableevidenceofintenseburningwhichhadblackenedthesurfacesofthestonesandcreatedacertainamountofash.Whetherthestepswereprovidedwithwoodentreadsandperhapsrisers,orwhethercombustiblematerialhadfallenontothemonument fromsometimberstructure isunclear,

2 Itisassumedthatthestoneshaveslippedforwardsbecauseofvoidscreatedbytheburningoutoftimbers,andthatthecrackingisaresultoftheintenseheatofthefire.Safetyconsiderationsnecessi-tatedhaltingexcavationbeforetheslotsforthehorizontalbeamswereexposed.

2006 PhryGIanExPanSIonToThEEaST 649

nocharcoalbeingfoundin situ3.Thewidthofthetopstepwas1.55m,thetread0.36m.Themaximumwidthofthetwolowerstepswas1.90m,thetread0.30and0.50m,thetopriser0.19m,theother0.14m.It isnotknownifthestepsextendasfardownasthepredictedlevelofthechamberfloor,some1.5mbelowtheexcavatedlevel,orwhethertherewassomeotherarrangementwhereby,forinstance,therewereonlyafewstepsatthetopofahighpodium.Ifthestepsdidcontinuetothefloorofthechamberasanticipatedtheywouldhaveextendedwellbeyondthecornerofthetower, therebyprojecting infrontofthechamber.Insupportofthissomewhatawkwardarrangementitistobenotedthatnoneoftherock-cutexamplesofsteppedmonumentswithidols inPhrygiaaretruncated4.Thesmallsizeofthesteps,withnarrowtreadsandlowrisers,togetherwiththeirpoorconstruction,surelyindicatesthat,likethePhrygianmonumentsjustmen-tioned,thestairswerenotintendedtobeclimbed.

Thetopmoststepdiffersfromtheothertwointhatthecentralstoneismadefromalargesingleblockofsoftwhitestone,probablyatuff,measuring730by420mmand170to190mminheight.Intothetopofthisstonewascutashallow,15mmdeep,recessmeasuring105by540mmintowhichthefrontandsidesofthestelefittedsnuglywhiletherearofthestelewouldhaveoverhungthebackofthestepbysome55mm5.Whilethetypeofstoneselectedtogetherwiththecare-fulcarvingreflectsthefunctionofthisuppermoststepasabaseforthestele,itisnoteworthythatthetopmoststepofPhrygianrock-cutstepmonumentsisusuallylargerandmorecarefullycutthanthosebelow6.Theexposedoutersideoftheun-coveredportionofthemonumentwaspoorlypreservedwithnointactface.

The STele

The stele was made from the same soft white stone as the uppermost step.Thetopislargelymissingandtheentirepieceseverelyfractured(Taf.1b)7.

3 Thestonestatueof ‘Kybele’with twoattendants fromanIronageGatewayatBoğazköystood,backagainstthewall,inabuiltnichepresumablycoveredbyapitchedroof(Bittel1958,61–72;Bittel1970,146–153).however,theorientationoftheKerkenesstelemakesitunlikelythatitwassimilarlyhoused.

4 rock-cut stepped monuments in the highlands of Phrygia have been conveniently collected anddiscussedbySivas1999andBerndt-Ersöz2003.SeealsoBerndt2002.

5 Boththistypeofstone,theidentificationofwhichisnotentirelycertain,andthesandstonereferredtobelowarefoundintheregionofKerkenes,althoughnoIronagequarrieshavebeenidentified.ForgeologicalbackgroundseeErcüment1998.

6 anobservationIowetoSusanneBerndt-Ersöz.7 attheendofthe2003seasonthestelewastakentotheKerkenesdepotandthetopmoststepwaslike-

wiseremovedin2004.ConservatornoëlSiverassiduouslycleanedeachfragmentandreassembledbothelementsin2004.


neverthelessenoughsurvivedtomakepossibleareconstructionoftheentireform(Taf.1c).onlythefrontandsidesofthestonehavebeenworked,thebackbeingveryroughandunevenwhilethebasewasnomorethanroughlytrimmed.Theformisarectangle,470mmhighby54mmwide,surmountedbyacircularheadthatperhapsattainedadiameterof450mm,themaximumpreserveddimen-sionbeing350mm.Thefrontisarticulatedbyslightlyraisedborders,125mminwidth,oneithersideandapparentlybyastrip100mminheightatthebottom.Thesurfaceoftherecessedcentralpanel,270by390mm,iscontiguouswiththehead,therebeingnoindicationofthelowerpartofthecircle.abolsterrestsoneachshoulder.Thetriangularspaceabovetheshoulder,betweenthebolsterandthehead,ismoredeeply(18mm)recessedthanthesides(8mm).Thesmoothedsidesareplain.

Thebolstersarehalf-roundwithadiameterof65mmattheendsand55mmatcentre.at120mmtheyaresome40mmlessthanthethicknessofthestele.Therearendsofthebolstersare,unlikethebackofthestele,wellfinished.Therearenoraisedribsaroundthebolstercentres,noristhereanytraceofpaintorotherformofembellishment.

DISCuSSIon

StelesofthisgeneraltypearewellknownfromCentralPhrygia,thePhrygianhighlandsandfromwithinthebendoftheKızılırmak(theredriverortheclas-sicalhalys).nonehavebeenreportedfromtheregionsouthoftheKızılırmakandthisiscurrentlytheeasternmostexampleknown.Theyarecutfromavarietyofstoneaswellasbeingcarvedintorockfacesorasrock-cutmonuments.Ithasbeenplausiblysuggestedthatwoodenversionswerecommon8.rock-cutexam-plesareveryoftenassociatedwithrock-cutsteps.Bothrock-cutandfreestandingexamples sometimesoccur inpairsdepictedon the sameblockwhile rock-cutidolsofthissametypesometimesoccuringroups.Suchidolsexhibitconsiderablevariationinsize,rangingfromafewcentimetrestoaround1mandarefoundinawidevarietyofcontexts9.Theyarevariouslyknownasaniconicorsemi-iconicstele,head idolsor simply idols.This example fromKerkenes is,however, thefirsttohavebeendiscoveredsetuponabuiltsteppedmonument(ratherthanarock-cutone).

8 Bittel1970,152.9 TwoexamplesareknowntomefromeastoftheKızılırmak,bothfromtheBüyükkaleIatBoğazköy

(Boehmer 1972, 172 no. 2147–2148 Taf. LxxIx; naumann 1983, 93 Taf. 9 a–b). Both are quitesmall.


Thechronology,contextandpossiblemeaningoftheseidolshavebeenmostrecentlydiscussedbySusanneBerndt-Ersöz10.aschematicfacedepictedonasin-gleexamplefromBoğazköy11andanotherfromGordion12demonstratebeyonddoubtthattheseidolsareanthropomorphicrepresentations.Theirculticfunctionisundoubted.

untilnownofreestandingidolsofthistypehavebeendiscoveredin situ,al-thoughonesmallexamplewasfoundinthesamegateasthe ‘Kybele’statueathattusa13.oneidolfromTumulusBatGordionwasfoundonthestonesightinglineorguidewallbeneath the tumulus,although itwas immediatelyobscuredbytheguidewallitselfsothatitspresencemaynothavesignificance14.Thattheinclusionofthisidolintheguidewallmighthavebeenfortuitousisstrengthenedbytherecoveryof threesimilar idols,onecarrying theschematicdepictionofaface,inthemantelofthesametumulus15.othersuchidolswerefoundintheCommonCemeteryatGordionbutarethoughttohavebeenassociatedwithdo-mesticcultactivitiesinthesettlementonthenortheastridge16.Twosuchidols,bothofsandstone,havealsobeenfoundinIronagecontextsatBoğazköy17.

Itbecomesclearthatallaniconicorsemi-iconicrepresentationsofthisgeneraltypearefoundwithin‘GreaterPhrygia’,thatisfromthePhrygianhighlandseast-wardstotheKanaksuBasin(i.e.theKerkenesregion).ThisdistributionpatternisverysimilartothedistributionofinscriptionsandgraffitiintheoldPhrygianlanguage18.rock-cutdepictionsontheotherhandare,likearchitecturalfaçades,restricted to the Phrygian highlands. only one representation of such an idolcarvedinreliefisreportedfromeastoftheKızılırmak,onastoneintheIronagedefensivewallatBüyükkale19.Withregardtothefreestandingidolsitmaybeob-servedthattheonlytwofoundin situ,atKerkenesandBoğazköy,stoodinmonu-mentalgates.althoughitfacedawayfromthecitynottowardsit,thesteleintheCappadociaGatecouldnothavebeenseenuntiltheinnerendofthegatepassage

10 Susanne Berndt-Ersöz 2003 passim; Berndt-Ersöz 2004 and Berndt-Ersöz in print. I am gratefultoSusanneBerndt-Ersözforsharingherdeepknowledgeandinsightswithusaswellasprovidingadvancedcopiesofseveralpapers.

11 Seenote10.12 Kohler1995,TumB33pl.12h–I;young1951,16fig.2.13 Bittel1958;Bittel1970,152fig.37;Beran1963,47–48fig.40.alsoBoehmer1972,no.2148.14 TumB17:Kohler1995,13–14note16fig.5guidewallaBandpl.11a6B.15 ForTumulusBseeKohler1995,9–24.232.ForidolsseeTumB33withface;TumB34andTumB35.16 Kohler1995,21note60referringtoanunpublisheddoctoralthesisbyGunlöganderson.Kohler

1995,note61referstotwootherunpublishedidolsfromthemantelofTumulusE.17 Bittel1970,150andnote10above.18 Brixhe–Lejeune1984,butnotethatthePhrygianinscriptionsfromTyanaaswellasthegraffitifrom

theBayandırtumulinearElmalıinLycia(Brixhe2004,108–118)falloutsidethisdistribution.19 neve1993,640–641abb.19.nodimensionsaregivenbuttherepresentationisclearlyquitesmall.I

owethisreferencetoSusanneBerndt-Ersöz.


hadbeenapproached,andwouldnothavebeenfullyconfrontedbeforeturningacorner.Itwasofftoonesidewheretrafficenteringthecitywouldhavepasseditbutwouldhavehadtosteptoonesideinordertostandinfront.Sunlightwouldrarely,ifever,havefallenonit,probablyneverilluminatingtheentirefront.

CloseassociationoftheKerkenesstelewitheverydaypassagethroughthegateis,however,amplifiedbyrepresentationsscratchedontwosandstoneblocksatthecorneroftheglacis(Taf.2a)andperhapsalsobywhatappearstobeatleasttwooccurrencesoftheoldPhrygianlettermfaintly incisedbutvisibleatthelowercentreofTafel2c20.Itisverytemptingtothinkthatthisrepeatedscratch-ingofthePhrygianm,ifthatisindeedwhatitis,mightrepresentmatar,i.e.thegreatgoddessofPhrygia.Whetherthedeeplyincisedrepresentationsoftheidolrepresentmorethanmeredoodlingsbypeoplewaitingtoenterthecity,orsimplybidingtimeintheshadowoftheglacis,itisdifficulttoknow.

Chronology

BoththeKerkenessteleitselfandthegraffitiofsimilaraniconicidolspostdatetheconstructionoftheCappadociaGateandpredatethedestructionoftheIronagecapital.IftheidentificationofKerkeneswithPteriaiscorrect,asseemsincreas-ingly probable, the destruction would have been associated with events in themid-sixthcenturyB.C.connectedwiththePersianinvasionofCyrustheGreat.There isnogoodreason to think that the foundationof thecity,and thus theconstructionofthedefences,shouldbedatedmuchearlierthanthelateseventhcentury.

StylisticallytheKerkenessteleisunusuallyornate,itsfacebeingembellishedwithraisedmarginsonthesidesandbaseaswellasbybolstersontheshoulders.Therearefewparallelsforthebolsters.Theclosestisasimilar‘headidol’fromTumulusBatGordionthatmightalsobedatedtothefirsthalfofthesixthcen-tury(ifitwasnotmanufacturedsignificantlyearlierthantheconstructionofthetumulus)21.Theotherparallelsforthebolstersaretherock-cutsteppedmonu-mentsandaniconicrepresentationknownasKöhnüş1intheKöhnüsvalleyofthePhrygianhighlandsandtworepresentationscutfromgraniteatthePhrygiansanctuaryatDümreknorthofGordion22.

20 apartfromthesetwostonestheentireglacisisbuiltofgranite.Sandstonewasperhapsusedherebecauseoftheeasewithwhichitcouldbetrimmedtofitanawkwardspace.

21 KeithDeVries’personalcommunicationbasedonarecentandasyetunpublishedre-examinationofthepotteryfromTumulusB.

22 ForKöhnüsseeSivas1999,169–170and lev.146.Berndt-Ersöz2003, fig.11no.101–102,but thebolstersaremoreobviousthanshownonherfig.78,seeSivas1999,lev.142a.TheDümreksteppedmonumentsare,accordingtotheattractivetheorypropoundedbyBerndt-Ersöz(2003andinprint),EarlyPhrygianindate.SeenowthepreliminaryworkinGraveet al.2005.


ConCLuSIon

ThelocationoftheKerkenessteleandgraffitiisyetanotherexampleofalongandwidespreadassociationbetweenstonerepresentationsofdeitiesandcitygatesinanatolia.Intheirpreciseform,andthereforeintheirsymbolismoriconography,theseKerkenes images are thoroughlyPhrygian.Thegraffitidemonstrate thatappreciationoftheiconographywasnotrestrictedtoarulingelite.ThediscoveryofthissteppedmonumentandtheaniconicstelethatitsupportedisevidenceofPhrygiancultatKerkeneswhichbearswitnesstosomelevelofPhrygianculture.Ifthegraffitidoincludetherepeatedscratchingoftheletterm,formatar,theearlierPhrygianversionofKybele,itwoulddemonstrateaconsiderabledepthofPhrygianculture.Ifnot,wemightbewitnesstoalevelofPhrygianisation,intheadoptionofadistinctiveaniconicorsemi-iconicstyleofrepresentation,ofsomeotherperhapsmore localdeity.Thisechoesbroaderquestionsof theextent towhichKerkenes,veryprobablyPteria,wasaPhrygianfoundation,andthedegreetowhichtheurbanpopulation,presumablyPterians,werethemselvesPhrygianorPhrygianised.IthighlightsasituationinwhichPteria,notpartofthePhrygianstate,wasneverthelessinsomewayPhrygian.Lastly,itdemonstrateshowlittleisunderstoodofthesixthcenturyB.C.ontheCentralanatolianPlateau,therebyunderscoringthecrucialroleofarchaeologyinilluminatingimportantandunex-pectedaspectsofthepast.

aBSTraCT

Kerkenes, an Ironage capital in centralanatolia, isprobably tobe identifiedwithancientPteria.ThecityappearstohavebeenanewfoundationofthelateseventhcenturyB.C.Itwassackedandburntinthemid-sixthcentury,probablybyCroesus,kingofLydia.recentexcavationsatoneofsevencitygates,whichwehavecalledtheCappadociaGate,hasrevealedevidenceforPhrygiancultintheformofasemi-aniconicsteleofwellknownPhrygiantypesetontopofabuiltsteppedmonument (Taf.1).Thestele itselfandthe topmoststep intowhich itwassetwerecutfromasoftlimestonewhilethelowersteps,whichhavenotbeencompletelyexposed,werebuiltofangulargranitefieldstones.Thismonumentstoodintherearofthegate.atthefrontofthegatepassagegraffiticutintotwosandstoneblocksseemtodepictsimilarsemi-aniconicidolsandperhapscharac-tersfromtheoldPhrygianalphabet(Taf.2).

Thesediscoveriesrepresentfurtherexamplesoftheassociationbetweenstonerepresentationsofdeitiesandcitygatesinanatoliaaswellasaddingtothein-creasingevidenceforthepredominanceofPhrygiancultureatKerkenes.


address

Geoffrey D. SummersThe Kerkenes ProjectMiddle East Technical UniversityAnkara 06531 [email protected]


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a

b c

Bam37SummErS:PhryGIanExPanSIonToThEEaSTTaFEL2

KerkenesDağ.a.Graffitiin situattheCappadociaGate.–b.Detailofthegraffiti.–c.DrawingofgraffitibyJudithSellers.

a

b

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Phrygian Expansion to the East: Evidence of Cult from Kerkenes Dağ

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