Standing tall against the jagged hills and grassy plains of Afyonkarahisar Province in Turkey is a monument from a long-forgotten civilization. Called Arslan Kaya, this towering megalithic carved stone has sat in the elements for 2600 years while the world changes around it.
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In 2024, though, Arslan Kaya finally got its day in the sun. A professor from Pennsylvania State University published a paper in October that sheds light on not only Arslan Kaya but the ancient civilization that built it.
Turkey is home to some of the oldest ancient civilizations in the world, including the people who built this inscription, the people of an ancient land called Phrygia. Who were they, and what does this 2,600-year-old monument tell us about them?
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What Is Arslan Kaya?
This monument in western Turkey is 2600 years old and was made by the Ancient Phrygians
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The beautiful Arslan Kaya was carved into a volcanic conglomerate peak near the shores of Lake Emre in 600-550 BCE. Made by an ancient people called the Phrygians, whose culture remains enigmatic to historians and archaeologists, Arslan Kaya is an impressive testament to the people who made it. At around 50 feet tall, this monument is truly a feat of ancient craftsmanship.
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Between 550 BCE and 2024 CE, the stone went through a lot. Centuries of sitting in the elements and vandalism have worn this megalith down in many places. Even though this statue is weathered, you can still see the remnants of what were once intricate carvings of humans, sphinxes, and lions.
Most importantly, the monument also bears an inscription. Although few would describe it as one of the most important archaeological discoveries ever made in Turkey (the site is still very obscure), this inscription has become critical in the study of Phrygian religion.
Location:
Near Lake Embre
Date Built:
~550 BCE
Who made it?
Ancient Phrygians
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Who Were The Phrygians?
The Phrygians were a people who lived in Anatolia during ancient times and were said to be the people of King Midas
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Before we can understand Arslan Kaya and its mysterious carvings, the people who made it have to be understood themselves: the Phrygians.
Around the 12th century BCE, the Phrygians came to Anatolia and maintained a cultural presence that resounded well into the Roman Period a thousand years later. In fact, an article of clothing from the Phrygians became very important to the Romans.
This was the Phrygian cap, which was important in imagery from the Mithraism cult (from whom some of the most mysterious ancient artifacts hail).
19th century depiction of Phrygians
Today, the Phrygians are not well understood yet. Scholars are using archaeology, linguistics, and historical records to better understand this ancient people, but research is still ongoing.
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According to Ancient Greek mythology, the Phrygians were the tribe that the famous King Midas was from. The legend of Midas is that this Phrygian king greedily asked the gods for the ability to turn everything he touched into gold.
After his request was granted, Midas realized that he could no longer eat or drink, since they also turned to gold at his touch. Some versions of the tale end with him starving to death, but others say that he began to hate wealth and became a forest-dwelling worshiper of the god Pan.
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What Was The Recent Archaeological Breakthrough At This 2,600-Year-Old Monument?
The inscription on this monument in Turkey has been mysterious for over a century, but in 2024, we now know what it says thanks to a classicist from Pennsylvania State University
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Archaeologists since the 19th century have been interested in Arslan Kaya. Discovered in 1884, this monument has sparked the interest of specialists for over a century. Yet it was only in 2024 that the inscription was deciphered by a classicist from Pennsylvania State University named Dr. Mark Munn.
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The level of wear that the monument has made it very difficult for the letters to be read, but highly detailed photographs using modern technology were able to provide Munn with the clarity necessary to read them.
He was even able to notice dividing characters between words, which are typical in inscriptions from Phrygia. Based on the font, size, and neatness of the letters, Munn hypothesizes that Arslan Kaya has ties to the Lydian Empire.
The word that Munn was able to read off the monument was Materan. For most modern readers, this word isn't one we'd recognize, but for Munn, it was an instant breakthrough. Materan is the name of a Phrygian mother goddess, one that was central to these people's cosmology.
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Person who made the breakthrough:
Dr. Mark Munn
What did the inscription read?
It revealed the name Materan
Why is this significant?
It references the Phrygian Mother Goddess
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Who Was Materan?
This prehistoric deity has a long history of importance in Anatolia
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Materan refers to a Phrygian mother goddess, more commonly known as Cybele. Called the "mother of the mountain" in Phrygian inscriptions, Cybele is considered to be the mother of all gods in this cosmology. In art, she's typically attended by two lions on either side of her and wears a crown that resembles city walls.
Although she's primarily associated with the Phrygians and was their primary deity, it's theorized by some archaeologists that she's actually far older than the Phrygians themselves.
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A statuette found at Çatalhöyük from 6000 BCE of a woman flanked by two lions is said to be either the goddess Cybele herself, or a deity that she was inspired by. Either way, Cybele is a fundamentally Anatolian goddess through and through; no one is denying that.
Long after the heyday of the Phrygians, Cybele continued to hold sway in the Ancient Mediterranean. Both the Greeks and Romans brought her into their pantheons, where she held heavy influence.
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Who Were The Lydians?
This Iron Age empire spanned Anatolia and may have lasted for centuries
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The Lydians were a local people who created an empire that spanned almost the entirety of Anatolia. From 800 BCE to 546 BCE, they ruled this area, including Phrygia, until they were brought into the Achaemenid Empire.
The reason Arslan Kaya's Lydian origin matters so much to archaeologists is that the relationship between the land of Phrygia and the Lydian Empire has not always been well understood. Munn's research brings the archaeological community closer to understanding this connection.
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What this inscription tells us is that they were connected not only by politics but by religion, too; the Lydians also worshiped Cybele. This archaeological breakthrough has shed so much light on religion in this time period!