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Tuleil

A couple of basalt blocks with Hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions have been purchased in 1935 by the team of Oriental Institute expedition in the town of Tuleil (now Et Tloul in Syria). One of the fragments is 27 cm in height and 35 cm in length and has a 3-line inscription. On account of similar characters and line heights, Hawkins suspects that this fragment may belong to the same monument as Jisr El Hadid fragments.

The other block was found built into the wall of a mosque. It shows the relief of a male figure used as amu ("I am") sign as the initial character of a 4-line Luwian inscription. The basalt block is about 40 cm in height, 87 cm in width, and 23 cm in thickness. Content of the badly worn out inscription is unclear. The first line mostly consists of human and animal figures. The last line appears to be a protective curse. Both fragments are in the possession of the Oriental Institute in Chicago.


Click on the pictures for larger images.

TULEIL 1 - I. Gelb, 1939 TULEIL 1 - J. D. Hawkins, 2000     TULEIL 2 - J. D. Hawkins, 2000 TULEIL 2 - J. D. Hawkins, 2000


Literature:
Hawkins, J. D. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions, Vol 1, Berlin, 2000: 381–83 and plts. 200–202.
Hawkins, J. D. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions, Vol 3, Berlin, 2024: 248–49.
Orthmann, W. Untersuchungen zur späthethitischen Kunst, Bonn, 1971. (Tuleil 2)


Image sources:
Ignace Gelb, Hittite Hieroglyphic Monuments, Chicago, 1939.
J. David Hawkins, 2000.