An unknown kingdom in Turkey, lost in time

The time of great discoveries is not behind us. The world still holds many surprises to be unveiled, believe it or not! 

As recently as last winter, a farmer in southern Turkey unearthed a large stone stuck in an irrigation canal. This stone carried mysterious inscriptions belonging to an ancient, lost civilization. 

The archaeologists determined that the writing was in Luwian, an ancient Indo-European language from Anatolia. It was used by the people living in western and southern Asia Minor from the 2^nd millennium BC, prior to the arrival of the Hittites. The hieroglyphic symbols were read in alternating sequences from right to left and left to right.

This newly discovered inscription mentions an ancient civilization that might have defeated the Phrygians, best known through their King Midas, in the late 8^th century BC (see: Gordion, a name with a resonance). A specific symbol on the stone indicated that the message came directly from their ruler, King Hartapu. The name Hartapu was known from a previously discovered inscription on a mound some 16 kilometers away, but at that time neither his title nor kingdom was mentioned. 

The kingdom, whose name is not known yet, existed between the 9^th and the 7^th centuries BC. Its capital was probably located near Turkmen-Karahöyük, less than 20 kilometers from the UNESCO site of Çatalhöyük. 

Imagine, this was 300-500 years before Alexander! Maybe he had the answers we hope to find in future research?

[Pictures from Archaeology World]

The beauty of Alexandrine mosaics

The first time I was confronted with the fine and delicate mosaics created in Alexandria was in Libya. 

Unexpectedly, this was in the eastern city of Ptolemais, seeing the centerpieces of the mosaic floors in the Summer Triclinium of the Palazzo delle Colonne. It was as if I could zoom in time and again to discover ever more details! 

Another striking example was exhibited at the local Museum of Sabratha in western Libya. Here it was a carpet-like mosaic depicting the Triumph of Bacchus. The three central roundels executed in fine Alexandrine mosaics stood out against the otherwise rather rough tesserae of the outer mosaic. The top roundel showed Bacchus, after whom the mosaic was named, followed by a lively lion head and a panther head. 

Another example was presented at the Bozar Museum in Brussels during the Exhibition on Alexandria in 2022. Here the fine centerpiece of the mosaic was a wild Medusa face on loan from the Museum of Alexandria dated also from the 2^nd century AD. 

Scenes of gods and goddesses were very common in antiquity, but it seems that animals were generally introduced by the Romans. 

Lesser known is the panel of a colorful parakeet, one of three centerpieces that decorated a floor of Palace V in Pergamon. This is the only one that made it to the Museum of Pergamon; the other two are lost in the mist of time. 

Now the story of this parakeet requires some extra information. To start with, it has been identified as the Psittacula eupatria, noble fatherland or of noble ancestry. Apparently, it was Alexander the Great who sent the first birds from Punjab to the West, where they were received as exotic pets by the rich and famous of his time. 

The mosaic panel was made in Pergamon in the days of Eumenes II or Attalus II to decorate the so-called altar room of Palace V on the city’s acropolis.

The technique also used the opus vermiculatum meant to emphasize the contours of the bird – a parakeet in this case. To that effect, one or more rows of dark tesserae would be inserted around the subject to enhance the pictorial effect and create an extra contrast or a shadow.   

It is hard to imagine how the artisans of those days were still able to see what they were doing handling those tiny bits of stone, marble, and glass varying between 0.5 to 1 millimeter in size and keeping an eye on the contrast effect at the same time. High-skilled craftsmanship, no doubt.

The Thrasyllos Monument in Athens

The rock on which the Athenian Acropolis has been built holds several caves that were used in antiquity as sanctuaries. Early settlers were attracted by the clean water from its hidden natural sources. Some of these caves led very far inside but most were rather small. Over time, some of these spaces were turned into sanctuaries. 

The most striking example is the Thrasyllos Monument, a temple inside a large cave on the south slope of the Acropolis. It was created around 320 BC by Thrasyllos, a judge in the Great Dionysia Festival. His son, Thrasykles, modified the monument in 270 BC.

Few people know that its façade was an almost exact copy of the west façade of the south wing of the Propylaea on the Acropolis above. It has two door openings with pilasters and a central pillar, crowned with a Doric architrave displaying a continuous row of guttae, a frieze, and a cornice. The frieze depicts five olive wreaths on either side of the central ivy wreath. The three columns above the cornice supported the bronze choragic tripods. Pausanias tells us that the cave held a representation of Apollo and Artemis killing the children of Niobe. 

Paintings inside the cave referred to a marble statue of Dionysus probably added to the top of the monument in the 4^th century AD. It was removed in 1802 by Lord Elgin, who took it to the British Museum in London. 

Under Ottoman rule, a small chapel was built inside the cave known as the Virgin Mary of the Cave. It was used by the Athenians who came to pray for the health of their sick children. The chapel was decorated with Biblical frescos, and a marble icon of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, recently restored. 

Most of the marble entrance collapsed in 1827 during the Ottoman siege and bombardment of the Acropolis. As so often, the stone material was reused elsewhere in the city and, in particular, for the restoration of the Byzantine Church of Panaghia Sotiras tou Nikodimou. 

[Reconstruction drawing by James Stuart and Nicholas Revett]

The restoration of the Thrasyllos Monument started in 2011 assisted by archaeologists of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. We have to thank the English architects James Stuart and Nicholas Revett for having left us so many drawings of what they witnessed in 18th-century Athens. Their work was of great help to reconstruct the Thrasyllos Monument and provided a clear copy of the original Greek inscriptions. 

This impressive Choragic Monument was meant to be seen by all of ancient Athens. Today, it is an eye-catcher overlooking the Theater of Dionysus. The Monument is clearly visible from the terrace of the New Acropolis Museum as seen in my picture from 2015.  

For safety reasons, the interior of the Thrasyllos Monument is not open to the public yet.

Bronze equestrian statuette from Albania

The Getty Villa Museum in Malibu, California, is hosting a special exhibition, The Horse and Rider from Albania from July 26, 2023, through January 29, 2024. The centerpiece is a beautiful bronze equestrian statuette that was found in 2018 by a farmer plowing his land. This happened near the ancient city of Arnisa, modern Babunjë. Based on the Geography of Claudius Ptolemy from the 2nd century AD, Arnisa belonged to the Illyrian Taulantians. 

[Statuette of a Horse and Rider,

Greek, 520–500 B.C. Bronze. Albanian Institute of Archaeology, Tirana.

Picture from Getty Museum]

The city was settled by people from nearby Apollonia (see: Along the Via Egnatia: from Ohrid to Elbasan) in the early 6th century BC. It was an ideal location close to the river Seman with ample fertile land. Arnisa itself was built according to the Hippodamian plan (see: The Hippodamian plan, not so Greek after all) and covered an area of five to six hectares. It was surrounded by a fortification wall made of carefully carved blocks that perfectly fit together as seen in other Illyrian cities in Albania. 

Although only a small part of Arnisa has been excavated so far, archaeologists believe that the city flourished in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, and was abandoned in the 3rd century BC when Macedonia rose to power after Alexander's conquests. Others are inclined to put an end to its prosperity in the days it was defeated by the Romans. 

The small Horse and Rider is approximately 14.5 cm high and has been tentatively dated to around 500 BC. It was cast in one piece of solid bronze and the rider’s face and the horse’s nostrils and eyes were carefully carved. 

Nothing of the kind has been found so far in Albania and scholars hope that future excavations will provide more information about the site of Arnisa and the history of Albania. 

After the exhibition at the Getty, the precious statuette will return home and find a proper place at the National Historical Museum of Tirana.