The Monumental Entrance, comprising an inclined stone pavement, 10m wide, flanked by a pair of massive towers, has been under excavation since 2002 (Figs 4 and 10). Its construction formed a part of an extensive remodelling of the eastern end of the palatial complex the subtleties of which are not yet fully elucidated. A massive timber construction which would have been closed by a pair of large, double-leaved, wooden doors was erected across the centre of the entranceway. The person in the foreground of Figure 10 is in the foundation trench of this partition which is filled with burnt debris. Large pavers indicate the position of the doors. In front of the southern end of the partition, partially in shadow, stands a conglomerate plinth. This plinth, along with its twin on the north side that was destroyed by stone robbers, perhaps supported life-sized sculptures of guardian animals of which a fragment was found on the surface (Fig. 3). A pitched roof, covered with reed thatch, must have been inclined to match the gradient of the pavement. The frontal elevation of the entire entrance would have looked imposing. The fronts of the towers, built of contrasting courses of silvery granite, yellow sandstone and white limestone, with dark wooden beams between, stood no less than 6m. This masonry formed a base for a timber framed superstructure with rubble infill covered over by mud plaster. To either side at the front wooden columns, 1m in diameter, standing on sandstone bases, supported huge roof timbers. The pediment may have been adorned by a tree of life flanked by rampant ibex the lower halves of which, cut from sheet bronze, were recovered in 2002.

Beyond the central partition, which perhaps resembled rock-cut façades of the Phrygian Highlands, the paving narrowed and a room built against the southern wall of the North Tower.

The burnt debris filling the passage had been disturbed by robbers, probably in Byzantine times. Ragged pits were dug in an apparent search for treasure, with the result that pieces of inscription and sculpture were scattered throughout the rubble fill.

A new fragment of the inscribed monument, together with an important new join, (Fig. 11) demonstrates that the raised borders carry several short inscriptions in the Old Phrygian language, not all of which are in the same hand. Some and perhaps all of these texts seem to be dedications of some kind. Pieces of the inscribed raised borders as well as fragments of relief sculpture within recessed panels sheered off from three or four vertical sides of a rectangular sandstone block before or during the fire. As to the block itself, if it survives at all it has yet to be found.

Graffiti on pottery that resembles ‘Middle Phrygian’ ceramics at Gordion are not uncommon, demonstrating the widespread use of the Old Phrygian at Kerkenes.

An unexpected surface find was a fragment of sculpture in the round that apparently depicts a mane, represented by zigzag grooves, with perhaps part of an ear(Fig. 3). This is the first indication that there were life-sized sculpted animals at Kerkenes. Could it have come from a lion or sphinx, originally one of a pair, that once stood proudly on the stone plinth set into the pavement?

Smaller objects were few, the exquisite silver foil appliqué with registers filled with concentric circles and a bolster at the top (Fig. 12), depicted on the back cover, may be seen as yet another example of the skills of local artisans at Kerkenes.