Hisarcık Inscriptions

An inscription found in the Hisarcık village about 10 km south of the city of Kayseri around the year 1900 was sent to Istanbul and today is in the Ancient Orient Museum. The 60 by 60 cm basalt block has a 3-line Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription on one face. The inscription mentions an offering of gazelles to Mount Harhara. The name Kurti is mentioned at the end of the text is probably the same person as King Kurti mentioned in Bahçeköy text.

Also in Hisarcık, at the location known as Toptepesi, an inscription written on the naturally smooth surface of a rock was first reported by Waldemar Belck in 1901. The two-line Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription is probably about an offering to Mount Harhara (Mt. Erciyes) and it too mentions the name Kurti. Unfortunately, sometime after the year 2000, the rock surface had been intentionally scraped, and the inscription was completely destroyed.

Based on the attestations of Kurti both inscriptions are dated to the last quarter of the 8th century BCE.


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