TWO FINDS IN CENTRAL ANATOLIA By W. H. C. Frenp I A Pacan Avtar anp Rock Carvinc In THE Kara Dacu SrrvaTep anour Fiereen miles north of Karaman the Kara Dagh is an isolated voleanic massif which rises out of the Lycaonian plateau to a height of nearly 7,000 feet. In the first decade of the century Sir William Ramsay and Gertrude Bell spent three seasons surveying the archeological remains in the area.! These include a great number of Byzantine churches and monasteries which have earned the Kara Dagh the name of Bin Bir Kilisse (“‘ Thousand and One Churches”). Apart from the churches, however, the two authors recorded a majestic Hittite monument on Kazil Dagh at the northern edge of the massif, and other evidences of a long- standing occupation in pre-Byzantine times which suggested that the Kara Dagh might preserve the remains of a continuous succession of cultures.? Seerce MAD of eawn Dace as64 (omar) ? Sir William Ramsay and Gertrude L. Bell, The Thousand and One Churches, London, 1909. 2 Ramsay and Bell, op. cit., 505 9596 ANATOLIAN STUDIES At the suggestion of Mr. Seton Lloyd, O.B.E., the Director of the British Institute at Ankara, I spent two days in the Kara Dagh during early September, 1954. The site was also visited in June, 1955, by Mr. G. R. H. Wright, who made line drawings of the carvings reported in this paper.' During my visit I was hospitably entertained by Bey Hanif Fi the headman of Maden $ehir, the largest village in the area. The remains of churches near Maden Schir are still in a good state of preservation, and in the great church at the entrance of the village one can see paintings of the Virgin and saints obscured by whitewash on the inside of the low arches which divided the central nave from the side aisles.? After visiting this and other remains near by, I set off up the long spur which rises above the village of Maden Sehir and leads to Degile some four miles to the north-west (see sketch-map). Near the top of the steep incline where the spur joins a ridge running almost due north and south, the going becomes much rockier, with great boulders flanking a wadi which descends towards the valley. Above, some fifty yards away, one could see the outline of the ruins of a small church with a courtyard.? My guide, however, directed my attention to a large rock which rose almost vertically seven feet out of the side of the water- course.’ At first glance it was evident that the top right-hand corner had been flattened, and that the flattened portion had been separated from the remainder by an artificial cleft, On the face had been carved a phallus- like object flanked by two small oval bosses, and below there was a roughly cut frieze decorated with an egg-shaped pattern. Then, with the sun shining obliquely on the rock, it was possible to distinguish the outlines of figures enclosed in three sides of a square frame o-go metres across, cut in very low relief below and to the left of the flattened area (see Fig. 1 and Plate VI a). The figures were covered with lichen, but one could distinguish the naked form of a man, advancing to the left towards a crescent moon with horns facing downwards, which had been cut in the rock further along. Resting on top of this one could just distinguish the horns of a small crescent. The figure had been carved in low relief about half life size (o+75 metres) in a naturalistic style. It gave the impression of a stockily- built and powerful individual moving forward with his arms stretched out towards the crescent moon. He did not appear to be carrying any offering. The only distinguishing feature was the hair which was long and piled up over the forehead to fall thickly on to the shoulders. + I would like to acknowledge the help of Mr. R. D. Barnett, F.S.4., Keeper of the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities in the Brith Museum, in the preparation of is paper. PeRccribed by Ramsay and Bell, as Church No. 1, ob et 41 ® T cannot identify this church from Ramsay and Bell’s description. It is a sm: building 5-2 metres in length and 4+1 metres broad, preceded by a square paved coui yard, 4 metre cach side. “On the fallen lintel was 4 Byzantine ¢ross, A few fect aw staod, ¢ remains of a small round dwelling. The dimensions of the rock itself are 2 high x 1-90 roaTWO FINDS IN CENTRAL ANATOLIA 97 Below the crescent moon had been carved rough letters in “ Latin” script which read LAIN (or A?).? Immediately below these to the left one could just distinguish the outline of another figure which had been incised in the rock. This carving was in a different and much ruder style than the male figure. It appeared to represent the head and body of a Altar and sack-carving in the Kara Dagh. arm was Taised stiffly in the direction of the man. The clothes were indicated schematically by straight Hines asa skirt reaching down to the knees. The legs and feet were not shown. Finally, to the right of the male figure and outside the carved frame, was a long-handled fan-shaped object, 0-62 metres in length, and incised in the rock in the same style as the female figure. On top of the rock the flattened surface at the right-hand corner was heart-shaped, measuring 0-60 metres in length and 0-37 metres across. ‘An altar is the most likely explanation of this feature; the whole frieze 4 Ina leer Mr, Barnett suggests that this may be meant for AIA, in which event the relief may represent Gaia supplicating Zeus to send rain on her.98 ANATOLIAN STUDIES may mark a sacred spot dedicated to the worship of a moon goddess, Here perhaps is another example of the custom which Ramsay notes as prevailing on the Mahalig, the highest point in the Kara Dagh. ‘The site of a Hittite shrine had been used by the Ghristians to build a church and chapel, thus resanctifying the mountain which had been honoured from time immemorial. The dating of the carving presents difficulties. Ramsay reports no similar discovery in the Kara Dagh, and the Phrygian (?) altars cut into Fig. 2, Sarcophagus at Deitle, the rock near Church No. 35 bear no resemblance to the altar under discussion.? The figures may be as early as Neo-Hittite, but the presence of “ Latin” characters on the rock indicates chat the site must also have been used in Classical times. In the choice of site, the altar has parallels with the shrine of Men Askaenos in the Sultan Dagh near Pisidian Antioch. Both are located on spurs high up in the mountains and near watercourses, and both were superseded by small Christian churches. But there is no: of the classical influence of the shrine of Men to be found at the Kara Dagh site and the worship was evidently purcly lunar. Nothing in the nature of the bull’s head carvings characteristic of the worship of Men were found here. One feels that one is dealing with the work of an carlicr age. On the other hand, the styles and traditions represented on the Kara Dagh altar survived in the arca for centuries, The same morning I visited Defgile, a mile to the north, where there is a splendid series of Byzantine churches and fortified buildings. There, prominent in the middle of the village near the ruins of the great monastery and churches is a large sarcophagus cut from a boulder of diorite 2-10 m. overall (see Fig. 2). On one side of this there has been carved in low relief a frieze 1-75 metres in * Ramsay and Bell, op. cit., 2 * Ramsay and Bell, op. 135) ig ig. 150. *M. M, Hardie, “The Shrine of Men Askaenos at Pisidian Antioch,” 7.4,5., XXXII, 1912, 001TWO FINDS IN CENTRAL ANATOLIA 99 length depicting a ploughing scene. First, comes the ploughman (0-65 metres high), his right hand holding a large stick with which he seems to be about to belabour an ox drawing a Phrygian plough. His left hand rests on the handle of the plough, In front of him walks the sower, his right hand stretched out behind him as though in the act of casting seed, while his left is stretched out in front and carries a large bag. Both figures wear short kilted tunics, drawn in at the waist by a belt, but the style of the carving, and in particular the manner of doing the hair is strikingly similar to that of the man shown on the rock carving. Here too the hair, thickly growing above the forehead, has been emphasized by the sculptor. As Ramsay points out,! ploughing scenes occur on many north Phrygian gravestones of the third century A.p., but the similarity in the style of these two carvings was unmistakable, Here we must leave the matter. The Kara Dagh, however, so rich in remains of successive Anatolian cultures, from Hittite to Byzantine times, would repay further survey. Some of its sites may yield valuable information about the culture and religion of this part of Asia Minor in the periods which preceded the growth of the Byzantine villages. I A Cuassicat Sarcormacus rrom Muraur near Esxt-Srnrr During a short visit to the village of Mutalip, about four miles north of Eski-Schir (Dorylacum), on 18th September, 1954, I was shown the remains of a fine white marble sarcophagus which had recently been dug out ofa farmyard. It still lay where the farmer had uncarthed it, near the wall of the yard amid the clutter of discarded cart-wheels and rank vegeta- ton. Only one side had been carved and the top part of this had been broken and lost (see Plate VIb). The scene, so beautifully executed in high relief, is clearly a funeral procession. The dead man rides on a richly caparisoned horse (one can just distinguish his legs on either side of the animal), and he is accompanied by two male figures. The leader who is walking beside the horse is clad in a short tunic gathered in at the waist by a belt, and wearing boots which reach half way up the calf. Behind the horse comes a second figure, similarly dressed, but apparently carrying a large sack on his back, traces of the lower part of which can be seen below the break in the sarcophagus. Both figures are placed on roughly-hewn pedestals, possibly representing rough, boulder-strewn country aver which they are moving. Accompanying them are two hounds, one walking with the rider, the other bringing up the rear of the procession, This latter is a splendid beast. His back is arched, his muscles tensed, and his head poised in an attitude of alertness. Every ' Ramsay and Bell, of. al., 517. ‘The sarcophagus was so prominently placed in Degile that I cannot believe that Ramsay and Bell missed it. On the other hand, they describe (lec. cit.) only “an agricultural scene very rudely sculptured, a man ploughing with two oxen and holding a goad". On the stone which Wright and I saw, however, the ploughman was preceded by a second figure, a sower,100 ANATOLIAN STUD. detail of his muscles has been brought out by the artist. He is a perfect specimen of a hunting dog with collar and bell accompanying his master on his final journey, In front as the procession advances is a wild boar, his long snout resting against the knee of the first figure. Te is watchful but not aggressive, and he himself is in no danger of attack from the party. Above him on another rocky pedestal are the fore and hind paws of another beast, this time feline, possily a panther.! How may one interpret this scene? The design is reminiscent of a hunt. The boots and tunic of the figures, the hound with collar and bell, and the wild animals are all typical figures of the chase. But obviously the rider is not hunting. His procession moves serenely amang peaceful animals. The faithful hound at the rear is indeed alert, but in defence and not attack. One is reminded forcibly of fimerary reliefs of Roman knights in which the dead man moves on his way mounted on a richly harnessed steed and accompanied by two avtendants. OF these, the cursor and the pedisequus, the latter carries a heavy sack over his shoulder. Surely we have something of the same type on this sarcophagus ? But here, the deceased is accompanied by his animals as well, and he is shown appropriately enough in this part of Phrygia, travelling through wild and rocky country on his last journcy to the Underworld, The animals he used to hunt, such as the boar and panther, complete the scene. A number of inseribed stones of the Classical period have been found at Mutalip,* but this finely carved sareophagus is out of the ordinary. The writer knows of no parallel in Asta Minor, and its owner must have been a man of substance. The excellent workmanship and splendid naturalistic presentation of detail argues for a date some time in the first century 4.p. Its presence in a village on the northern edge of the Tembris valley is not the least interesting feature of the discovery. \ Tam very grateful to Professor J. M. C. Toynbee for her help in interpreting the various figures on this sarcophagus ? Sec D, E. L. Haynes, “' Mors in Victoria,” Papert of the Brittily Schoo! af Rome, XV, NSS. ii, 1939, 27-32, The figures can hardly be Dioscori who are generally represented barefont. 9G. W.M. Cox and A. Cameron, Moumenta Asi Minorés antigua, V, nos, boPLATE VE fe) Altarand Rack-carving in the Kare Dagh, (8) Clanciral Sarciphague ar Mutalip,