İnsuyu Stele

The rectangular and reddish colored andesite stele was located in 1999 in the locality of Cevdetbey Yayla near Insuyu village in the Cihanbeyli township of Konya and transferred to Konya Museum. The stele was already seen in Haci Bey Yayla (near Insuyu) by J. Finger in 1938 and reported to K. Bittel of the Boğazköy excavations. The highly weathered 0.82 m high and 0.79 m wide stele shows two figures, a seated man with a tall and conical hat and a person standing in front of him. It is believed that the relief was left unfinished. Combined with erosion, the reliefs are only visible in outline, with very few inner details. The conic hat and the barely visible long hair in the seated figure's back may indicate that he represents the Storm God. The standing man with a cup(?) in his extended arm might be a ruler. Two cup holes at the top of the stele may have served for offerings. Stylistically, a date around the end of the 8th or beginning of the 7th century has been suggested. Its relatively distant location from other Late Hittite monuments gives clues to the extent of Late Hittite kingdoms of the period. The stele is on display in the Konya Museum.


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