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Keşlik Yayla

The round top stele was found lying face down in 1962 by the landowner Abdullah Tanık in a dry creek bed in a plateau called Bayındır Yayla north of Keşlik village, which lies about 2 km north of the Altunhisar town in Niğde province, and was handed over to officials from the Niğde Museum. It is likely that the stele was originally erected on a base carved into an andesite block at the top of a nearby hill called Kasım Tepesi (see the last picture below). It shows the Storm-God holding grapes and a long stem of wheat in a pose similar to the one in İvriz. The stele is carved of andesite and approximately 1.5 meters in height. In the background of the god figure and probably on the sides, there are illegible traces of a 9-line Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription. Based on the location and similarities to Warpalawa monuments, it is associated with the Neo-Hittite Tuwana Kingdom and dated to the second half of the 8th century BCE. The stele is currently on display in the Niğde Museum.


Click on the pictures for larger images.

T. Bilgin, 2017 Berges & Nollé, 2000 Base of the stele - D'Alfonso & Mora, 2010


Literature:
Aro, S. "Art and Architecture," in H. C. Melchert (ed.), The Luwians, Leiden: Brill, 2003: 281–337 (319).
Berges, D., J. Nollé. Tyana - Archäologisch-historische Untersuchungen zum südwestlichen Kappadokien, Bonn: Hebelt, 2000: 103.
Çınaroğlu, A. "M.Ö. I. Binde Keşlik Yaylası ve Civarı," IX. Türk Tarih Kongresi, v.1, 1986: 323–32 and plts. 127–39.
D’Alfonso, L., C. Mora, "Archaeological Survey in Northern Tyanitis," , ICAANE 6 v.2, 2010: 123–38 (128) and figs. 6–7.
Hawkins, J. D. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions, Vol 1, Berlin: de Gruyter. 2000: 531 and plt. 305.
Mora, C. and S. Balatti. "Stelae from Tuwana," FsFales, 2012: 527–38.
Sezer, V. "Keşlik Steli," Anadolu 18, 1974 [1977]: 133–34 and plts. I–II.
Sezer, V. "Bor-Keşlik Steli," Türk Arkeoloji Dergisi 24.2, 1977: 147–51.
(List of Abbreviations)


Image sources:
Tayfun Bilgin, 2017.
Dietrich Berges & Johannes Nollé, 2000.
Lorenzo D’Alfonso & Clelia Mora, 2010.