EXCAVATIONS

The Cappadocia Gate

      The cutting of the section across the entire width of the gate passage (Figs 13 and 15) revealed that it would have been possible for wheeled vehicles to pass through the gate only during the Iron Age. Immediately after the fire, in or around 547 BC, the gate was deliberately destroyed. At some later date, perhaps in the Byzantine period as suggested by pottery sherds, part of the rubble fill of the passage was removed so as to make a track fit for animals. A battered pile of stones was used to retain the very loose rubble fill on the western side of this narrow track. It is now clear, therefore, that the wide and prominent road that climbs gently up the hillside to the Cappadocia Gate is an Iron Age road. The floor of the gate passage was unpaved, the eroded Iron Age surface of the passage being covered with charcoal fragments from the city's destruction.

      Other work at the gate (Fig. 14) was carried out in preparation for more extensive clearance and conservation in 2003. When this program is completed, the Cappadocia Gate will provide a focal point with strong visual impact for a growing number of visitors.

FINDS

Bronze Ibex

      The lower halves of an antithetical pair of ibex (Fig. 16) were recovered from the stone pavement in TR 01, as described above. The pieces are very large, the complete example measuring 41cm. The height of the entire animal, including horns, would therefore have been in excess of 1.00m or perhaps as much as two-thirds life-size. The extant pieces were cut from sheet bronze. The complete example has one nail hole in each hoof and a third in the tail (but none along the top edge). Muscles and joints are very slightly embossed and emphasized by means of lines and incomplete circles, these latter apparently made with a punch. Although the second animal is less well preserved than the first, it is nevertheless very substantial. It is certain that the two animals are not exactly identical, with the stance of the tail, for instance, being slightly different in each case.

      The rampant pose is certain. It would seem highly probable, therefore, that the original composition included a central feature on which the raised hoof of each animal rested. This is very likely to have been a tree of life. A parallel for such a composition that is not far distant from Kerkenes, and perhaps not very much later in date, can be seen on the decorated terracotta tiles from Pazarli near Çorum.

      It is possible, but by no means certain, that the animals were winged. Such an arrangement would perhaps go some way to explaining why the extant pieces end across the middle of the torso, particularly if the wings were made of a different material. It is likewise possible, but by no means necessary, to imagine that both animals were looking back over their shoulders rather than facing forwards. Whatever the original composition, it seems more than reasonable to assume that the horns were emblazoned with gold.