Mysterious Ancient Inscription on 'Mother Goddess' Monument Deciphered

2 hours ago 1

A mysterious inscription on an ancient monument dedicated to a "mother goddess" has been deciphered thanks to a researcher's "fortuitous" discovery.

The inscription is on the Arslan Kaya ("Lion Rock") monument in the Phrygian Highlands between Seyit Gazi and Afyonkarahisar in central western Turkey.

Arslan Kaya is a free-standing spire of volcanic rock about 52 feet tall. Its face is carved as a building facade with a gabled roof and a doorway. It is one of eight similar large facades carved on rock faces in the Phrygian Highlands.

These carved facades, associated with the ancient Phrygian culture, are believed to represent shrines or temples of the mother goddess, Matar ("Mother"). The Phrygians were an ancient Indo-European people who inhabited central Anatolia (in what is now modern-day Turkey) during the early first millennium B.C. They are known for their rich culture and the legendary King Midas.

"The Phrygian Mother is considered to be a powerful goddess ruling the natural world," study author Mark Munn, a professor of Ancient Greek History and Archaeology at Pennsylvania State University, told Newsweek.

Experts generally date the carved monuments associated with the goddess in the Phrygian Highlands to between 700 B.C. and 550 B.C. Although for stylistic reasons, Munn said he believes most of them, Arslan Kaya included, date to 600-550 B.C.

Arslan Kaya was "elaborately decorated" with an image of the Phrygian mother goddess standing in the doorway, two lions at her sides, figures of sphinxes in the gable above the doorway and a giant lion carved on the side of the rock.

However, these features have suffered exposure to the weather, and in recent years, they have been badly damaged by treasure seekers. They dynamited a portion of the monument's face and doorway frame and completely hacked away the image of the goddess.

The monument also features inscriptions in the Phrygian language, which can only be partly understood today.

When the monument was first described in the 1880s, the inscription that is the focus of the latest study (known as W-03), located above the doorway, was already badly worn.

Despite this, some scholars thought that the word "Materan"—the name of the Phrygian goddess in the accusative case—could be read. Other scholars examining the inscription considered this uncertain, concluding that the inscription could not be read and was essentially illegible.

Munn had long been interested in the monuments of the Phrygian Highlands related to the mother goddess and visited some of them several years ago. But this year, he visited Arslan Kaya for the first time.

"I did not expect to discover anything new, only to see this monument, which is very worn and had been badly damaged by treasure seekers, before it was further damaged or destroyed," Munn said. "But I was luckily able to see certain details that had not been seen or accurately reported before."

"Visiting Arslan Kaya in April of this year, in morning light when the sun was shining across the face of Arslan Kaya, I was able to see traces of the letters of the Phrygian inscription [W-03]. If the light is not right, these traces cannot be distinguished from cracks in the rock."

The "fortuitous timing" of the visit enabled Munn to take photographs that reveal traces of the inscription, according to the study published in the journal for the study of early and pre-Greek languages, Kadmos. This allowed Munn to provide a corrected reading of the inscription.

"With my photographs, and comparing them to the best photographs taken by earlier visitors from the 1890s and 1950s, I could confirm that the name of the Mother—'Materan'—can definitely be read in the center of the inscription. A few other letters can be read, but not enough to make whole words," he said.

Arslan Kaya therefore preserves the name or title of the goddess, Matar, in the accusative case, according to Munn. The word "Materan" appears to be the object of a phrase or sentence following what may be a verb.

Judging from well-preserved Phrygian inscriptions, this prominent inscription on Arslan Kaya likely gave the name of the person responsible for creating or dedicating this monument to the mother goddess.

"The name of the Phrygian Mother can be read on at least two of the other great Phrygian facades, but Arslan Kaya is the only one where her name and her image were both carved," Munn said.

Stylistic details also confirm that the monument is dated to the first half or middle of the 6th century B.C., the study said.

Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about archaeology? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.