Niğde

The round stone base was excavated from the foundations of a house in Niğde in 1906. The short Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription on it reads, "This stone Saruwani made (as) his statue" (J. D. Hawkins). It is possible that this was a base for a statue. Saruwani must be a ruler of Nahitiya (Niğde), and he is also the author of Andaval. It is dated to the early 8th century BCE and is currently at the Istanbul Ancient Orient Museum.

The stele with the Storm God relief was found in 1975 lying face down in front of the threshold of a mosque (Dışarı Camii) in Niğde, being used as a step. Storm-God Tarhunza is shown holding a double-axe and trident thunderbolt. Behind him is a vine with grapes ,and in front of him are stems of barley. On the side of the stele is a 4-line Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription: "This Tarhunza Muwaharani [ma]de(?), the hero, the king loved by Tarhunza (and) the gods, the son of Warpalawa the just, the hero." King Warpalawa of Tuwana is also known from İvriz, Bor, and Bulgarmaden monuments. Muwaharani being his son, the stele is dated to the end of the 8th or beginning of the 7th century BCE. It is currently in the Niğde Museum.


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