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Phrygian rock-cut cult façades: a study of the function of the so-called shaft monuments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2013

Susanne Berndt-Ersöz
Affiliation:
University of Stockholm

Extract

The aim of this paper is to discuss different possibilities for the function of the shaft found behind certain Phrygian cult façades. The purpose of the shaft is unknown, but various theories exist.

In the highlands of Phrygia, between Afyon and Eskişehir, around Türkmen Dağ, which is covered by volcanic tuff, the Phrygians created their sanctuaries and other monuments from the rock itself. These monuments have been the subject of study by several scholars. Haspels (1971, 3–19) gives a thorough account of earlier travellers and scholars. The rock-cut shrines and sanctuaries to be found in this area can be divided into two basic categories. The first category comprises monuments which consist of a façade, varying in size, generally depicting the front of a house and usually with a niche as its focal point. Sometimes there is no façade, just a niche. In the niche we can assume that the cult statue of the Phrygian Mother goddess Kybele was placed, as in a few cases the cult image of Kybele was cut straight from the rock and is still in situ.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute at Ankara 1998

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