Areyastis (Arezastis)

Areyastis Monument is a large Phrygian façade located 1.7 km north of Yazılıkaya village, on one of the rocks about 130 m away from the road between Yazılıkaya and Çukurca. Across the road to the east, Phrygian fortresses Gökgöz Kale and Pişmiş Kale are located on round top rock plateaus. The name of the monument was given because of the word “Areyastin” written in the Phrygian inscription on it. (The plain form of the word is Areyastis. It is thought to be an adjective used for the mother goddess Matar. Some researchers have adopted the reading of Arezastis). Locally, it is also known as Küçük (Small) Yazılıkaya or Hasanbey Rock. It is the best preserved of the Phrygian monumental façades. Although it was first noticed by L. de Laborde in 1826, Texier was the person who gave a detailed description and produced an engraving of the monument in 1834. The monument is 5.50 m high and 4.20 m wide. Its roof has a triangular pediment with an akroterion in the shape of two semicircles. There are rectangular frame reliefs on each side of the king post in the pediment. The nearly square-shaped façade wall is surrounded by two embossed frames. The frames are decorated with an array of ornaments consisting of square panels placed at regular intervals. Unlike classical façade architecture that places the niche at the bottom, here is a small niche just below the upper frame. The absence of a classical niche and the lack of decoration on the left side of the façade suggest that this monument was left unfinished. There are three Old Phrygian inscriptions (W‑01) on the monument. The monument is dated to c. 550 BCE.




References:
Berndt-Ersöz, S. 2006. Phrygian Rock–Cut Shrines. Structure, Function and Cult Practice, Leiden.
Texier, C. 1839. Description de l´Asie mineure, Premier Volume, Paris.
Tüfekçi-Sivas, T. 1999. Eskişehir-Afyonkarahisar- Kütahya İl Sınırları İçindeki Phryg Kaya Anıtları, Anadolu Üniversitesi Yayınları No:1156, Eskişehir.

Image sources:
C. Texier, 1839
John Henry Haynes, 1887
Guillaume Berggren, 1889
Bora Bilgin, 2020
Tayfun Bilgin, 2020