Çineköy

The Lte Hittite style statue represents the Storm-god Tarhunza. In November 1997, it was found buried in a farm at the Çine village of Adana province. The god figure is standing upright on a cart pulled by two bulls. The statue is about 2.5 meters high with the base. There is a Phoenician and Hieroglyphic Luwian bilingual inscription on the base. The author of the Çineköy text identifies himself as Warika and refers to his land as Hiyawa. He praises himself for strengthening his country and declares himself a good ally of Assyria. King Warika of Hiyawa may be the same person as Urikki, the king of Que (Quwe), mentioned in the Assyrian sources dating to Sargon II. It was suggested by some scholars that the land of Hiyawa mentioned in the text refers to Ahhiyawa, which in Hittite cuneiform texts refers to the land of Mycenaean Greeks. Warika's name has also been compared with Awariku, the king of Adanawa mentioned in the Karatepe and Hasanbeyli inscriptions. The monument should date to the second half of the 8th century BCE. It is currently on display in the Adana Museum. King Warika is also mentioned in İncirli and Cebelireis inscriptions, although the latter one is likely to belong to a namesake descendant.


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