<< Our Photo Pages >> Yazilikaya - Carving in Turkey

Submitted by davidmorgan on Saturday, 03 July 2021  Page Views: 10548

Rock ArtSite Name: Yazilikaya Alternative Name: Hattuşa Yazılıkaya
Country: Turkey Type: Carving
Nearest Town: Yozgat  Nearest Village: Boğazkale
Latitude: 40.025277N  Longitude: 34.632270E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 5 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 5

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Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by davidmorgan : The Great Rock-Gallery adorned with reliefs representing 63 Hittite divinities. Probably erected by Hattusili III (1275-1250 BCE). Photo taken September 1993. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Stone Carvings in Çorum Province, Turkey. This is the national sanctuary of the Hittite Empire as conceived by King Tudhaliya IV for Chamber A and his son Suppiluliuma II (the last Hittite monarch) for Chamber B. A natural rock shrine, open to the sky, carved with almost 100 figures of gods and kings. 13th century BCE. The smaller and narrower Chamber B is more of a memorial to Tudhaliya IV.

Originally there were buildings in front of the sanctuary.

A World Heritage site.

Note: See the comments on our page for a paper suggesting that these rock cut reliefs had a time-keeping function
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Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by davidmorgan : One of the main panels in Chamber A. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by davidmorgan : Chamber A. Carved reliefs of Hittite gods. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by davidmorgan : Yazilikaya chamber B. Carved reliefs of the Sword God and King Tudhaliya. October 2004. (4 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by SolarMegalith : This relief show king Tudhaliya and god Sarruma (Sharruma), who was originally one of the main gods in Hurrians pantheon and was later adopted by Hittites (photo taken on June 2010). (Vote or comment on this photo)

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by davidmorgan : Charles Texier's representation of the main relief, from Asie Mineure: description geographique, historique et archeologique des provinces et des villes de la chersonnése d'Asie, published in 1862. Image source: Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg. Figures from left: Kumarbi, "father of the gods" and father of Teshub and Tashmishu. Tashmishu, brother Teshub. Teshub, weather god and k... (3 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by davidmorgan : Relief 34 - Šimige, the Hurrian sun god. Photo taken in 2016.

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by davidmorgan : The 16 gods at the tail end of the procession. There are 41 lesser gods and other figures behind Teshub.

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by davidmorgan : The culmination of the two processions is a meeting between the weather god, Teshub, centre left, and the sun goddess, Hebat. Their son, Sharruma, "king of the mountains", is the smaller figure to the right of Hebat. I think you need the afternoon sunlight to get good light on this. (2 comments)

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by davidmorgan : The procession of gods at Yazılıkaya.

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by SolarMegalith : Relief showing underworld gods. Most of the reliefs are dated on 1400 - 1300 BCE, however the sanctuary was used even earlier (photo taken on June 2010).

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by AlexHunger : Yazilikaya chamber B Underworld Gods. The Hittites were quite superstitious and adopted the gods of the people they conquered, hence nearly a dozen underworld gods. These were propably meant to ease the passing of King Tudhalia IV, the second to last Hittite King.

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by davidmorgan : The Sword God.

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by davidmorgan : The procession of the goddesses on the right side of Chamber A, with King Tudhaliya IV on the right.

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by davidmorgan : An atmospheric sanctuary of the gods. Still my favourite ancient site.

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by AlexHunger : Yazilikaya sanctuary Chamber A Hittite sun and moon gods with female attendants.

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by AlexHunger : Yazilikaya sanctuary Chamber A Hittite Gods.

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by AlexHunger : Foundations of structures in front of the Yazilikaya sanctuary. probably used by priests etc

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by AlexHunger : Yazilikaya chamber B. Memorial for second to last Hittites King, Tudhalia IV, as conceived by his son.

Yazilikaya
Yazilikaya submitted by davidmorgan : The god Sharruma embraces King Tudhaliya.

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 1.5km WSW 247° Hattuşa* Ancient Village or Settlement
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"Yazilikaya" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
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The Hittite Rock Sanctuary of Yazılıkaya: A Time-Keeping Device from c. 123 by ArchAstro on Saturday, 19 June 2021
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Very interesting paper about this site on possible calender connections:
The Hittite Rock Sanctuary of Yazılıkaya: A Time-Keeping Device from c. 1230 B.C by Eberhard Zangger.

The Hittite rock sanctuary of Yazılıkaya in central Anatolia contains over ninety rock-cut reliefs of deities, humans, animals, and mythical figures dating to the second half of the 13th century B.C. The site's function has thus far remained enigmatic. We suggest that the reliefs in Chamber A are arranged in groups for the purpose of keeping track of lunar months, the days of a lunar month, and years. By marking the days and synodic months, the Hittite priests were able to determine when additional months were required to keep lunar and solar years aligned. Keeping track of time was imperative for the Hittites priests to ensure that the many annual festivals fall into the appropriate seasons.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335724460_The_Hittite_Rock_Sanctuary_of_Yazilikaya_A_Time-Keeping_Device_from_c_1230_BC
[ Reply to This ]
    Cosmic Symbolism at Hittite Yazilikaya (Short Video) by Andy B on Sunday, 25 July 2021
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    For almost two hundred years, archaeologists have been looking for a plausible explanation for the ancient rock sanctuary of Yazılıkaya in Central Turkey. Over 3,200 years ago, stonemasons artfully cut more than 90 reliefs of deities, animals, and chimaeras into the limestone bedrock. An international team of researchers now presents an interpretation that for the first time suggests a coherent context for all of the figures. Accordingly, the stone-carved reliefs in two rock chambers symbolize the cosmos: the underworld, the earth, and the sky, as well as the recurring cycles of the seasons, the phases of the moon, and day and night.



    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpe0-xO0OqY&t=1s

    With thanks to Jackdaw1 for the link
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Ancient rock-cut reliefs await restoration by Andy B on Monday, 18 June 2007
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Yazılıkaya is a generic term meaning 'inscribed rock' in Turkish

This site page and all the photos attached need to be renamed as Hattuşa Yazılıkaya

Thanks to David Morgan for the information
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