Gephyra (May 2020)
An Idol-shaped Stele with an Old Phrygian Inscription in the Territory of Nakoleia
Abstract
During the archaeological surveys conducted in Seyitgazi and Han Districts of Eskişehir Province in 2019, we have visited Eski Cami Höyük (formerly known as Hüsnüabad) which is located 1 km southeast of Gümüşbel Village, 15 km east of Seyitgazi District in Eskişehir Province. The mound is under a cemetery from the Islamic Period and has a preserved diameter of 180 m with a 3.5 m height. During this visit, Iron Age ceramics were identified on the mound and its skirts, dating to the Late Chalcolithic Age, the Early Bronze Age 2-3, the Classical Period, and the 8th Century BC. On the south-eastern skirt of the mound, an idol-shaped stele with an Old Phrygian inscription was found. In this article, we describe the newly found stele and the inscription and discuss its importance for the Phrygian iconography and linguistics. Three heads and a long body (?) engraved on the idol-shaped tufa block may signify the Mother Goddess together with the gods that accompany her. Two of the heads were made right next to each other and are bordered by a double engraved line. The third head was placed between the other two, made at the point where the double engraved lines that border the two heads meet in the middle. On the stele, there is one line of an Old Phrygian inscription above the heads and three lines just under them. It follows from the inscription that the idol was probably used as a boundary stone. The clear part of the inscription can be translated as follows: “Atas. My monument is a boundary stone.”
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