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Keskaya / Çatalkaya  

There are two small façades and one idol in Keskaya (Çatalkaya), a Phrygian settlement, 1.5 km west of Karaalan village of Eskişehir. It takes its name (Kes-kaya means Cut-rock, Çatal-kaya means Fork-rock) from the rock mass located in the region that is cut open like a groove from above. It is located on the rocky hill overlooking the Porsuk Stream.

The first monument was discovered in 1931 during the surveys in the region by C. W. Cox and A. Cameron. It is engraved on the northeast facing side of a rock mass called Sivri Kaya (or Uzun Kaya) on the eastern edge of the rock platform. Karaalan-Uluçayır village road passes right in front of it. It has been heavily destroyed due to natural conditions and treasure hunters. The niche section is carved like an entrance door of the façade. There are illegible traces of an inscription in the niche, but it is unclear whether they are contemporary with or post-date the monument.

The second monument is located on the east-facing side of one of the rock masses on the opposite side of the road, approximately 500 m northeast of the first. It was discovered during the researches carried out by Tüfekçi-Sivas in 1995. The monument overall is highly weathered and the figure of the goddess in the niche was destroyed by treasure hunters. It is estimated that both façades belong to the Late Phrygian (550-300 BCE) period.

There is single idol about 400 m south of the first façade. A niche monument approximately 200 m north-northeast of Uzun Kaya was reported by E. Haspels, but it is no longer visible today. It is likely that the niche was located close to a Phrygian rock tomb in the same area which is almost entirely destroyed due to quarrying activities.

Click on the pictures for larger images.

Keskaya

The region takes its name from the rock so called Keskaya.

Façade 1

Façade 1 Façade 1 Façade 1 Façade 1 Façade 1

Façade 2

Façade 2 Façade 2

Niche



Idol

The idol at Keskaya The idol at Keskaya





References:
Berndt-Ersöz, S. 2006. Phrygian Rock–Cut Shrines. Structure, Function and Cult Practice, Leiden.
Haspels, C. H. E. 1971. The Highlands of Phrygia. Sites and Monuments, Princeton.
Haspels, C. H. E. 2009. I am the Last of the Travellers, Midas City Excavation and Surveys in the Highlands of Phrygia, (Ed. D. Berndt with contributions by H. Çambel), İstanbul.
Tamsü-Polat, R. 2022. 'İdollerin Frig Kültüründeki Kimliğine Dair Bir Analiz', Art-Sanat 17, 451-473.
Tüfekçi-Sivas, T. 1999. Eskişehir-Afyonkarahisar- Kütahya İl Sınırları İçindeki Phryg Kaya Anıtları, Anadolu Üniversitesi Yayınları No:1156, Eskişehir.
Tüfekçi-Sivas, T. & H. Sivas. 2003. 'Eskişehir, Kütahya, Afyonkarahisar illeri yüzey araştırması arkeolojik envanter raporu', TÜBA-TÜKSEK Kültür envanteri dergisi/Journal of cultural inventory 1, 2003, 2–32.

Image sources:
C. H. E. Haspels, 1971
T. Tüfekçi-Sivas, 1999
T. Tüfekçi-Sivas & H. Sivas, 2003
C. H. E. Haspels, 2009
Bora Bilgin, 2020
Tayfun Bilgin, 2020
R. Tamsü-Polat, 2022