An unexpected discovery unveiled ancient works of art that were once part of an Iron Age complex under a house in southeastern Turkey. The unfinished work shows a procession of deities depicting how different cultures have come together.
Initially, robbers invaded the underground complex in 2017, creating an opening in the ground floor of a two-story house in the village of Bashbuk. The chamber, carved into limestone rock, extends 98 feet (30 meters) below the house.
When the robbers were captured by authorities, a team of archaeologists conducted abbreviated rescue excavations to study the significance of the underground complex and the art on the rock panel in the fall of 2018, before erosion could further damage the site. The researchers found in a study published Tuesday in the journal Antiquity.
Archaeologists followed a long stone staircase to an underground chamber, where they found rare works of art on the wall. Credit: C. Uludağ
The works of art were created in the 9th century BC during the Neo-Assyrian Empire, which began in Mesopotamia and expanded to become the largest superpower at the time.
This extension included Anatolia, a large peninsula in West Asia that included much of modern-day Turkey, between 600 and 900 BC.
“When the Assyrian Empire exercised political power in southeastern Anatolia, Assyrian rulers expressed their power through Assyrian palace-style art,” said study author Selim Feruh Adali, an associate professor of history at the University of Social Sciences in Ankara, Turkey.
An example of this style are carved monumental rock reliefs, but neo-Assyrian examples are rare, write the authors of the study.
Combining crops
The works of art reflect the integration of cultures instead of outright conquest. The names of the deities are written in the local Aramaic language. The images depict religious themes from Syria and Anatolia and are created in Assyrian style.
“This shows how in the early phase of neo-Assyrian control of the region there was local coexistence and symbiosis of Assyrians and Aramaeans in a region,” Adali said. “The Başbük Panel gives scholars studying the nature of empires a striking example of how regional traditions can remain vocal and vital in the exercise of imperial power expressed through monumental art.”
The work shows eight deities, all unfinished. The largest is 3.6 feet (1.1 meters) high. Local deities in the works of art include the moon god Sin, the storm god Hadad and the goddess Atargatis. Behind them, researchers could identify a sun god and other deities. The images combine symbols of Syrian-Anatolian religious significance with elements of Assyrian representation, Adali said.
Some of the artwork includes Hadad, the god of storms, and Atargatis, the chief goddess of northern Syria. Credit: M. Önal
“The inclusion of Syrian-Anatolian religious themes (illustrates) the adaptation of neo-Assyrian elements in ways one did not expect from earlier finds,” Adali said. “They reflect an earlier phase of the Assyrian presence in the region, when local elements were more prominent.”
After discovering this work of art, study author Mehmet Yonal, a professor of archeology at Haran University in Turkey, said: “When the dim light of the lamp revealed the deities, I trembled with awe when I realized I was facing very expressive eyes and the majestic face of the god of storms Hadad. “
The mysteries remain
The team also identified an inscription that may indicate the name of Mukīn-abūa, a neo-Assyrian official who served during the reign of Adad-nirari III between 783 and 811 BC. Archaeologists suspect that at the time he was assigned to the area and used the complex as a way to win over the local population.
But the structure is unfinished and has remained unfinished all this time, suggesting that something has led builders and artists to abandon it – perhaps even a revolt.
“The panel was made by local artists serving the Assyrian authorities, who are adapting neo-Assyrian art to a rural context,” Adali said. “It was used to perform rituals observed by provincial authorities. It may have been abandoned due to a change in provincial authorities and practices or due to emerging political and military conflict. “
Adali was the epigraph of the team that read and translated the Aramaic inscriptions in 2019, using photos taken by the research team, which had to work quickly to explore the site.
“I was shocked to see Aramaic inscriptions on such works of art, and a sense of excitement came over me as I read the names of the deities,” Adali said.
The site was closed after excavations in 2018 because it is unstable and could collapse. It is now under the legal protection of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Archaeologists are eager to continue their work when excavations can be safely resumed to capture new images of works of art and inscriptions, and possibly uncover more works of art and artifacts.
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