Excavations at the Cappadocia Gate
Kerkenes Final Reports 1
by Geoffrey Summers, with contributions by Susanne Berndt, Yilmaz Selim Erdal, Evangelia Piskin, Yasemin Ozarslan, Noel Siver, Francoise Summers, Robert Tate, and Nilufer Baturayoglu Yoney, Turkish summary by Guzin Eren
Hardback (Published)
(April 2021)
ISBN: 9781614910596
8.98 x 11.73 inches
Price: $149.00
In stock
The city on the Kerkenes Dag in the high plateau of central Turkey was a new Iron Age capital, very probably Pteria. Founded in the later seventh century BC, the city was put to the torch in the mid sixth century and then abandoned. Between 1999 and 2011 what we have called the Cappadocia Gate, one of the seven city gates that pierce the 7 km of strong stone defenses, was excavated in its entirety. This volume documents as fully as possible the results of those excavations. The location of the gate and its architecture are discussed and illustrated, with a chapter devoted to its partial restoration. Cultic installations within the gate structure include a built stepped monument with semi-iconic idol, an aniconic stela, and graffiti representing similar stones. Sculpture set up at the back of the gate comprised many fragments of a life-sized statue supported by a plinth bearing adorsed sphinxes carved in relief. The remains of two human victims of the destruction are examined, as are animal bones that perhaps provide evidence of meals consumed by builders of the gate. Pottery and other finds, including well-preserved iron door bands, are presented, as is an exceptional ornament of gold and electrum. A final chapter attempts to place these remarkable discoveries in a wider context. The gate plan and the cultic installations and sculpture set up inside the gate appear to be entirely Phrygian. Combined with evidence of Paleo-Phrygian inscription and graffiti already published (OIP 135), this volume sheds dramatic new and unexpected evidence for the power, wealth, and sophistication of an eastward expansion of Phrygia. The brief existence, hardly more than 100 years, together with the excellent stratigraphic context of the destruction level, provide an unparalleled window onto the first half of the sixth century BC on the Anatolian Plateau.
- By (author) Geoffrey D. Summers
- Summary by Guzin Eren
- Contributions by Nilufer Baturayoglu Yoney
- Contributions by Susanne Berndt
- Contributions by Yasemin Ozarslan
- Contributions by Evangelia Piskin
- Contributions by Yilmaz Selim Erdal
- Contributions by Noel Siver
- Contributions by Francoise Summers
- Contributions by Robert Tate
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The Amuq Valley Regional Projects, Volume 1
Surveys in the Plain of Antioch and Orontes Delta, Turkey, 1995-2002
Volume 131
The Archive of Thotsutmis, Son of Panouphis
Early Ptolemaic Ostraca from Deir el Bahari (O. Edgerton)
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Temple of Khonsu, Volume 3
The Graffiti on the Khonsu Temple Roof at Karnak: A Manifestat
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The Egyptian Book of the Dead
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Excavations in the Plain of Antioch III
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Archaeology of the Bronze Age, Hellenistic, and Roman Remains at an Ancient Town on the Euphrates River
Excavations at Tell Es-Sweyhat, Syria Volume 2
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Reliefs and Inscriptions at Luxor Temple, Volume 1
The Festival Procession of Opet in the Colonnade Hall
Volume 112
Town and Country in Southeastern Anatolia, Volume II
The Stratigraphic Sequence at Kurban Hoyuk
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The Origins of State Organisations in Prehistoric Highland Fars, Southern Iran
Excavations at Tall-e Bakun
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Old Babylonian Public Buildings in the Diyala Region. Part One
Excavations at Ishchali, Part Two: Khafajah Mounds B, C, and D.
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Kerkenes Special Studies 1
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The Archaeology and Geography of Ancient Transcaucasian Societies, Volume I
The Foundations of Research and Regional Survey in the Tsaghkahovit Plain, Armenia
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Cuneiform Texts from the Ur III Period in the Oriental Institute, Volume 1
Drehem Administrative Documents from the Reign of Shulgi
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Medinet Habu IX
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