Jisr El Hadid

The three fragments with Hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions are likely to be part of a single monumental inscription, probably a stele or orthostat. They were found in the mid-1930s in the town of Jisr el Hadid, now Demirköprü, a couple of them built into the walls of houses and another in a river, and subsequently purchased and moved to Chicago. All three fragments are of similar size, about 25 cm in height and 35 cm in length. Hawkins suggests that the stele in its original shape must have been at least 70 cm by 60 cm. A couple of feet with pointy shoes that are visible at the top-right corner of the Fragment 1 are likely the bottom of an introductory amu ("I am") sign (see Karkamış), which should belong to the beginning of the inscription. The text written in the 1st person is likely to belong to a ruler of the Late Hittite kingdom Walastin (see Tell Tayinat), but not much can be determined from the preserved sections. Hawkins also suspects that the nearby-found TULEIL 1 fragment might be a part of this monument. A date in the 9th to 8th century BCE has been suggested. All three fragments are at the Oriental Institute of Chicago.

In 2006, a statue base with Luwian inscriptions on two sides of it was found by the bank of the Orontes River in Demirköprü. The basalt base is about 103 cm in length, 70 cm in width, and 40 cm in height. Originally rectangular in shape, the base has a mortise hole at the top and the last couple of lines of an inscription on its sides. The initial lines of the inscription must have been on the statue that once stood on top of it. On the base itself, only the sides A and D are preserved. It is deduced from the text that the statue was that of a person named Sami(ya), which was erected by his son named Runtapi(?) apparently in memory of his deceased father and that it mentions animal offerings for the Storm-God and the father. Since no titles are mentioned, the status of the author and father is not known. A date in the 8th century BCE has been suggested. The base was moved to the Antakya Museum in 2009.


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JISR EL HADID 1–3

JISR EL HADID 4