(Post by A.D. Riddle)
There have been a dozen or so online pieces in the last two days about the colossal statue found at Tel Tayinat this summer, but most of them repeat what can be found in the official news release (see the update added to the end of our first post).
A few new photos have appeared, and the Toronto Star describes the discovery of the statue by Darren Joblonkay, a student working on the dig this summer.
(photo by Jennifer Jackson)
(photo by Jennifer Jackson)
Darren Joblonkay with statue fragment (photo from The Star).
In the lower photo, one can barely see that the back of the statue, from the shoulders down, has an uneven surface. This must be the “lengthy Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription” in raised relief. The article in the Toronto Star gives a few intriguing details about the content of the inscription. It belongs to the Neo-Hittite king Suppiluliuma (9th cent. B.C.) and describes his “taking land from eight neighbouring kingdoms, establishing a border, and building a monument to his father.” The photo shows another piece of monumental sculpture, a column base fragment depicting a winged bull. The other reports state that the column base also has a relief of a sphinx.
The low mound of Tell Tayinat in the Amuq Plain, Turkey.
(photo source)
UPDATE: The official announcement was also released at the website of the University of Toronto, including a link to a photo of the column base fragment.
(photo by Jennifer Jackson)
