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Ancoz Inscriptions
Several fragments of limestone and basalt blocks with Hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions were found near the Ancoz village (now Eskitaş), which is located at the north bank of the Euphrates river and Atatürk dam lake, about 30 km to the southeast of Kahta. Earliest fragments were noted in 1958 but most of them were recovered during surveys between 1975 and 1979 and the excavations carried out by Sedat Alp between 1979 and 1981. Some of the blocks were found on a hill near the village, where classical era ruins were visible on the surface, and some others were found built into the walls of the houses of the village. Most of the blocks display two lines of inscription, although some are noticeable only by traces. Ancoz inscriptions, along with those from Boybeypınarı, Samsat, Malpınarı and Adıyaman date to the period of the Neo-Hittite kingdom of Kummuh. Almost all inscription appear to be dedications by the royal family to the deities including the Stag God of the Field, Kubaba, and the Great Storm God of Heavens. Hawkins (2013) suggests that the deified mountain Hurtula mentioned in a few of the inscriptions might be the name of the hill where Ancoz monuments were erected. Research at the site revealed a Commagene period temenos which can be seen as an evidence for its pre-existing sanctity.
Some fragments (Ancoz 4, 7, 13) mention a ruler Suppiluliuma and his son Hattusili, whom can be dated to the early 8th century BCE on account of Assyrian sources. The improved reading of Ancoz 5 revealed a father-son pair in reverse order: "Hattusili and Suppiluliuma, father and son", which may suggest more than one ruler with either one of these names (see M. Poetto, 2010, in GsNeu2).
The bottom fragment of Ancoz 1 and most of the other fragments are in the Adıyaman Museum. The upper fragment of Ancoz 1 is in the Adana Museum. Whereabouts of some of the fragments is not clear.
The last picture below is a fragment of a relief depicting a seated woman, possibly the goddess Kubaba (see Karkamış). It was first found in 1937 but remained in use as a doorsill in the village of Ancoz. However, its current whereabouts is unknown.
Click on the pictures for larger images.
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| Ancoz 1 | Ancoz 2 | Ancoz 3 | Ancoz 4
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Ancoz 7
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| Ancoz 10 | Ancoz 11 | Ancoz 12 | Ancoz 13
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Fragments
| Frag. 1 | Frag. 2 | Frag. 3 | Frag. 4 | Relief fragment
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Literature:
Alp, S. 1987. "Ancoz Excavations, 1979," Aşağı Fırat projesi 1978–1979 çalışmaları. Ankara, 1987: 61–70 and pls. 15–18.
Bilgin, T. and M. Özçiriş. "Unpublished Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions from Adıyaman Museum," JAOS 141.4, 2021: 767–77. (ANCOZ 13 and frags. 1–3)
Bilgin, T. and M. Özçiriş. "Hieroglyphic Luwian Fragments from Commagene," NABU 2021: 261–62. (ANCOZ frag. 4)
Hawkins, J. D. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions, Vol 1, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2000: 330-60 and pls. 171-76, 185–88.
Hawkins, J. D. "Gods of Commagene: The Cult of the Stag-God in the inscriptions of Ancoz," Diversity and Standardization, 2013: 65–80.
Orthmann, W. Untersuchungen zur späthethitischen Kunst, Bonn, 1971: 101, 479 and pl. 5g.
Poetto, M. "Un frammento inedito in luvio geroglifico da Ancoz," FsCarruba, 2004: 469–71. (ANCOZ 11)
Poetto, M. "L'Iscrizione luvio-geroglifica Ancoz 5 (A) rivista e completata," GsNeu2, 2010: 131–42.
Poetto, M. "Un nuovo frammento in luvio geroglifico da Ancoz (ANCOZ 12)," FsHawkins 2010: 188–92.
(List of Abbreviations)
Image sources:
Tarık Yazıcı, 2012.
J. David Hawkins, 2000.
Machteld J. Mellink, AJA 64, 1960.
Tayfun Bilgin, 2020, 2021.
Cüneyt Süer, 2011.
Massimo Poetto, 2004, 2010 (2).
Ertuğrul Anıl, 2011.
Bora Bilgin, 2011.
