A Hittite Figurine Found in the Excavation of Kadıkalesi in Kuşadası

Abstract

A Hittite Figurine Found in the Excavation of Kadıkalesi in Kuşadası

Abstract

The bronze male figurine examined in this study was found in 2002 in the excavation carried out in Kad›kalesi in Kufladas›1. Kad›kalesi is located on a mound reaching out to the sea, approximately 8 km south of Kufladas› in Ayd›n, in the north-west of Davutlar district, in the area which is named as “Nazilli Estates” today due to the summer housing estates in the area2. The figurine, which was exhibited in Ayd›n Museum, is not a layer find and has been discovered in the south-western section of the mound, in the south of the fortress belonging to the Byzantium period, outside the wall extending between the bastions numbered 3 and 4, and approximately 30 cm above the layers dating back to the 2nd Millenium B.C. The work of art has been found to be lying by the side of a single-rowed stone wall which perpendicularly leans to the city wall. This bronze figurine personifies a male with his left foot stepping forward and his right hand holding up a spear (?), lightning be am (?) or a similar object. It has a height of 7,8 cm as the way it was preserved. A long pony tail reaching down to his waist is attached to the conic head of this round-faced and pop-eyed figurine with large prominent ears and a big nose. The neck shape of the figurine excavated in Kad›kalesi in Kufladas› differs from other figurines of its like. The neck is not straight and is attached to the body under the head gear in a convex form. The position of the feet is uncertain since the legs are broken near the ankles. It is impossible to comment on whether this work has got pointed feet observed in some figurines. The legs were not given a straight shape, but were formed with a plumpness in the lower part of the knee. The fact that the figurine is not a layer find rises difficulties in the exact dating of the work. However, considering similar examples, it is possible to state that this figurine is a Hittite work dating back to 15th-14th centuries B.C.

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