Inscribed Stele Base Fragment The fragment has a Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription (MARAŞ 7) on two sides adjoining at 90 degree angle, although the edge section is broken. The fragment apparently belongs to the base of a stele of statue. The inscription on the A side makes a 90 degree turn and this alone suggests that A side is the top surface of the base. This is supported by the presence of a blank band and the traces of an indentation at the upper edge of A side, which must be the corner of the mortise hole that held a stele or statue. The partially visible two lines on the B side are boustrophedon, top line sinistroverse and the bottom dextroverse. The city of Gurgum is mentioned in the inscription but otherwise too little is preserved to determine the context. A date in the late 9th century has been suggested. The fragment has a height of 29 cm on side A and 21 cm on side B, and it is about 28 cm in length. It was already reported by Puchstein in the possession of Rev. Henry Marden of the American mission in Maraş, through whom the piece came into the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1890.

Literature:
Hawkins, J. D. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions, Vol 1, Berlin, 2000: 279-80 and plt. 130. (MARAŞ 7)

Image sources:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
J. David Hawkins, 2000.