Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 2.djvu/227

 HiTTiTE Monuments in Lycaonia. 209 seated bearded figure and high square cap carved upon it.^ Above the personage is an inscription of four Hnes in Hittite hieroglyphs, but which difter from similar characters of the Naharaim in that they are incised instead of being in relief. The other monument alluded to was discovered in the neighbourhood of Ibreez or Ivriz, about three hours south-east of Eregli, ancient Kybistra, almost on the borders of Lycaonia. Ibreez stands at the foot of a hill, to which it has given the name (Ibriz-Dagh), and is one of the spurs of the Bulgar-Dagh, whose innumerable ridges are among the loftiest of the mighty Taurus range. Torrents, fed by copious springs, descend from the woody heights, interspersed with patches of green corn and herbage, gay with flowers, blue, red, and yellow ; with fine walnuts, which grow wild ; with plum and fig and all manner of fruitful trees ; whilst the slopes converging to the banks of streams and rivulets are clad with vineyards. The monument (Fig. 354), which in future will form the chief attraction to the village, was noticed by Otter in 1736 ; but Fischer was the first to make a drawing of it, which he communicated to Dr. Kiepert, who has published it in Ritter's great work ^ {Erdkunde, iii. 18 ; Asia Minor, vol. i.). It has since been visited by the Rev. E. J. Davis, who has published a circumstantial description, together with a good drawing of it^ The bas-relief was again visited by Ramsay in 1882, who, whilst he acknowledged the excellence of Mr. Davis's sketch, pointed out details in the costume which had been overlooked by the latter. The omission was doubtless due in part to the visit of the reverend gentleman having occurred in the rainy season, when the stream which washes the base of the cliff on which the figures are carved had risen much above its ordinary level, so that some of the signs were invisible. Hence the task of making a proper drawing is not one easily accomplished ; for even in the dry season the feet of the larger figure are only about 2 m. 50 c. above water-mark, ' Mr. Ramsay's hasty sketch has been published in Wright's Empire^ Plate XV. See also Professor Sayce's letter to the Academy (Aug. 5, 1882), in which he details the circumstances which prevented Mr. Ramsay from obtaining a careful copy of the monument. ^ Davis, "On a New Hamathite Inscription" (Trans. Soc. BibL Arch.^ vol. iv. p.336). Mr. Davis is the author of two books on travel: Anatolicay published in 1874 ; and Life in Asiatic Turkey^ which contains a drawing of the monument under notice, but which I have not seen. The letterpress, notably on Pisidia, is far superior to the drawings. VOL. II. P
 * RriTER, Kleinasien, torn. i. Plate III.