3000 Years of History Came Out From The Door Of A Family From Konya

A part of the Luwian hieroglyphic epigrahy belonging to the Hittite King IV. Tudhaliya period was used as a door jamb in a house in the village of Karaören in Konya. Interpol is looking for the missing part of it.

Dr. Çiğdem Maner, a  Lecturer Koç University, who conducts the 'Bronze and Iron Age Survey' project covering Ereğli, Halkapınar, Karapınar and Emirgazi districts of Konya with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism,  searches for  the 3,300-year-old Hittite epigrahy that disappeared in 2015.

Luwian hieroglyphic epigrahy was first published in 2011 in the book 'Karaören with Poets and Poems' written by a teacher Nizamettin Tezcan from Karaören. The epigrahy, used as a step on the door of a house in the village of Karaören, was lost in 2015.

Konya Ereğli Museum Directorate reported to the ministry that the stone was not in its place. Ministry of Culture and Tourism started searching for historical epigrahy all over the world via Interpol. However, no information about the epigrahy was available.

Thinking that it could be the missing part of the epigraphy, Dr. Maner contiuned to search on the surface research and found the owner of the old house in the village of Karaören last year. They went to the village together with Fahri Kaymak, the owner of the house. Kaymak said that they found this stone (epigraphy) with his father from the ruins while they were building their house 45 years ago, broke it because the stone was too big and put the other half as jambs on the door.

Hieroglyphs were seen in their original form under plaster on the back of the stone, where the hieroglyphic inscriptions were not visible due to the correction of the front side with an incision. With the help of the Konya Directorate of Survey and Monuments, the hieroglyphic inscribed stone was removed from the door of the house with a crane and brought to the Konya Ereğli Museum on December 9, 2020 and taken under protection.

In the examinations made on the 82x 44x 23.5 centimeter rectangular inscription, discovered in Karaören, it was understood that it gave information about the military expedition and deer cult of the Hittite period.

Stating that the stone contains important information about the Hittite period, Dr. Maner said that “We went to the house in the village with Fahri Kaymak and our ministry representative Enver Akgün from Konya Museum on August 18, 2020. The owner showed us where he and his father got this stone from when he was a child. He also explained where they used the other half of the stone in the house. We carefully dismantled the stone from the place it showed and carried it to the museum. This Hittite Luwian hieroglyphic stone block is an extraordinary antique. Most likely Great King IV. Tudhaliya dates back to the 13th century BC , Hittite Imperial Age and we think it contains important information about the historical geography of the Hatti region and the deer cult found in Sarpa Mountain. There are not many of these epigrahy. For this reason, the unknown belonging to the Hittite period come to light thanks to these epigrahy.”