Traces of Tarhuntas

Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Interaction with Hittite Monuments

Abstract

This article examines what people in Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Anatolia thought about and did with Hittite and Neo-Hittite rock-cut reliefs and inscriptions. It brings together archaeological and textual evidence that demonstrates the intensity, variety, and sophistication of interactions with Bronze and Iron Age material remains between the classical and early Byzantine periods. It also calls attention to the ways in which indigenous inhabitants and foreign visitors alike used such remains to construct or verify narratives about local and universal history. The evidence analyzed here should be of interest to those studying social memory as well as cross-cultural interaction within and beyond the Mediterranean. Editorial Note It has been brought to our attention that the authors, Drs. F. Rojas and V. Sergueenkova, did not obtain permission from Drs. C. Maner and Y. Erbil to discuss several of the sites in the wider Konya area considered in this article and for which Drs. Maner and Erbil now hold survey permits. According to accepted international academic standards such as those in the Archaeological Institute of America’s Code of Professional Standards, professional archaeologists ‘owe consideration to colleagues and project members’ (AIA Code, Section III, heading); in particular, ‘before studying and/or publishing any unpublished material archaeologists should secure proper permission in writing, from the appropriate project director or the appointed representative of the sponsoring institution and/or the antiquities authorities in the country of origin’ (AIA Code Section III.6). This note acknowledges that omission.