RELIEFS FROM 2nd B.C. DISCOVERED IN ŞANLIURFA
RELIEFS FROM 2nd B.C. DISCOVERED IN ŞANLIURFA

Summary/Abstract: During the surface surveys conducted in Şanlıurfa in recent years, a large number of reliefs dating back to the timeframe from 2 th B.C. to 1th B.C. were discovered. Dağyamacı reliefs, located 500 m east of the Harran Plain within Tek Tek Mountains region, are reliefs dating back to 2 th B.C. Said reliefs dating back to 2 th B.C. were unearthed at some quarry-like location. The location where Dağyamacı reliefs were discovered is the only limestone quarry that has been dated to 2 th B.C. in the region. Orthostatic relief sketches, embossed friezes and stone blocks extracted in the form of cubes were unearthed in the quarry located at Dağyamacı. The reliefs depict sitting figures, standing nude figures, fauna and flora motifs. These reliefs, estimated to be fabricated between the first quarter and the last quarter of 2 th B.C., present features similar in style to some artifacts previously unearthed in the region and delivered to Şanlıurfa Museum. Discovery of the rock tombs from Early Bronze Age and the relief of a lion dating to 1 th B.C. in the ancient settlement of Soğmatar located close to the Dağyamacı reliefs indicates that the region around Tek Tek Mountains has been a key region for stonemasonry since early times. The blocks of limestone from the valleys of Tek Tek Mountains should be extracted rather easily thanks to the natural slopes of the valley, and should have been transported from these valleys to the settlements established in Harran Plain. Absence of limestone resources in Harran Plain should have led to emergence of the quarries where such reliefs were fabricated in Tek Tek Mountains region. The fact that Dağyamacı reliefs are fabricated in small sizes in line with the prevailing fashion trends of the era and that such reliefs present similar features in style allows us to date such reliefs back to 2 th B.C. This study intends to introduce the reliefs from 2 th B.C. unearthed in Şanlıurfa either recently or during previous excavations.

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