Abstract
Lying between the central Anatolian plateau and the Euphrates region, the Elbistan plain represents an ideal environment for inspecting forms of cultural interconnection. During the Iron Age, this territory was marked by the presence of notable inscribed monuments, the study of which allowed scholars to establish relationships with the most significant Neo-Hittite dynasties. This region is also characterized by the presence of sets of anepigraphic portal lions, positioned seemingly at random in the open landscape and with no apparent relationship with coeval archaeological remains, which have never been concretely integrated into the historical picture. In this contribution, the iconographic and stylistic analysis of these sculptures will allow us to situate them in their chronological and historical framework. A computational spatial model is further used to evaluate the meaning of their positioning as markers of a visual networking system that may have represented the most significant thoroughfares to and from the Elbistan plain.
Highlights
AND GOALSSince the mid-19th century AD, German and British explorers travelling across the Taurus regions reported the presence of two free-standing stone lions located approximately 15 km south of Darende, in the middle of the soft foothills at the northern border of the Elbistan plain in central-eastern Anatolia.1 Because of their presence the spot has always been referred to Francesco Di Filippo, Federico Manuelli by local inhabitants asArslantaş (Fig. 1)
The lions from the Elbistan plain have never been concretely integrated into the development of the SyroAnatolian art
Concerning the distinctive mane of Arslantaş, it must be stressed that the stylized spade or leaf pattern is more typical of the Hittite lions, while it developed into a flame-shape mostly during the Iron Age (Akurgal 1949: 59; Mazzoni 2000: 1046)
Summary
Since the mid-19th century AD, German and British explorers travelling across the Taurus regions reported the presence of two free-standing stone lions located approximately 15 km south of Darende, in the middle of the soft foothills at the northern border of the Elbistan plain in central-eastern Anatolia. Because of their presence the spot has always been referred to. 35 km southeast of Arslantaş, at the eastern border of the Elbistan plain, a second pair of standing lions has been found in the proximity of the village of Sevdiliköy They were moved in 1961 to the local museum of Kahramanmaraş (Eralp 1995). They are unique in the whole context of Syro-Anatolian art, considering that they are the only lions carved on all their surfaces and arranged to be seen for a full four-side view.2 Their location is anything but random, since they are all positioned in strategic areas marking the existence of possible passages and accesses from and to their territory as well as a special relationship with the surrounding landscape. Their positioning will be evaluated within the surrounding territory through computational spatial models and their symbolic, political, and historical meanings will be further discussed
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