BIKE CLASSICAL: Eflatun Pinar: Hittite Dedicatory Fountain

Photos by Jack A. Waldron

I was enjoying my somewhat easy ride through the Konya/Beysehir countryside so much, that I missed the signboard pointing the way to Eflatun Pinar. The photo above was taken off the main road that runs through Ucpinar, about 15 kilometers from Eflatun Pinar.

Once I had the massive lake in my sights (pictured above), I knew I had gone too far, so I doubled back about four kilometers. It's almost never nice to have to retrace your cycling path, at least for me, because I've always preferred to be on an ongoing journey to discovery.

So of course, when I reached the junction in the road, I made it a point to prop my bike up in front of the sign and catalog my error (pictured below). The angle of the sign was set for visitors traveling the opposite direction from which I approached the junction, so, I wasn't too angry at myself.

Upon my first glance of Eflatun Pinar, I felt a great surge of joy and reward, as I could already see from such a distance that this place was very very special (pictured below).

I've visited some of the great fountains of Italy, the U.S.A., Asia, and more, but this monumental fountain at Eflatun Pinar must have set one of the first standards of magnificence for all future fountain designs.

This standard is not only with regard to beauty, but also function, as you will see in the photos below, there were numerous spouts where water exited the face of the monument. Pictured below, a small wooden bridge crosses the massive outbound flow of the deep spring pool.

I arrived quite late in the afternoon, so I set up came within a stones throw of the site. The three lion sculpture can be seen in the photo below, just beyond my campsite.

Camping so close wouldn't have been possible if a site guard had been on duty, but as I visit more and more ancient sites, I've found that there are just too many to be guarded full time.

I snapped the photo above just after setting up camp, while the last vestiges of the sun god were bringing the protective lions to life. It has been speculated that this was not the original positioning of this massive sculpture, and that it may have served as fill for a Roman dam.

Regardless, the faces of these wild beasts have been gazing toward the setting sun for approximately 2000 years, or perhaps 3000? In the photos above and below, there are obvious holes at the feet of all three lions.

I think I can say with quite a bit of certainty, that wherever this hulk was originally positioned, I believe the Hittites placed this massive tonnage of sculpture atop a source, and a spring arose from under it, thus feeding the outlets via a hollowed out inner chamber.

Wherever wild waters of nature sprang from the ground, the Hittites saw to tame and harness these gifts from the gods. Sitting directly opposite the colossal face of the fountain is a sculpture of a goddess, most probably the sun goddess Arinniti (pictured above and below).

The damaged block next to the Sun Goddess may have been a representation of the Storm God.

Arinniti might be an early representation of the later Anatolian mother goddess, Kybele.

If I apply the Kybele role within her ancient context, and I were to speculate as to why this more ancient goddess figure (Arinniti) is perched in such a strategic position, then I might hypothesize that she is the median between wild and civilized.

She, through her benevolence, is buffering/controlling and keeping separate the laws of nature and human civilization in order to create harmony for the continuing existence of both.

The Kybele dedicatory practice would appear to have served the same purpose that the Hittite priests and priestesses hoped to gain from their actions of dedication.

When the sun finally fell and the darkness of evening arrived, the whole site began to glow under a full moon rising. (pictured above).

The following morning brought the full onslaught of the life giver, which could only be tamed by the nourishing spring waters of Efatun Pinar.

I propped my bike up against the fence that wrapped around the ancient pool and set about exploring and photographing this ancient wonder.

I usually take one photo with myself in the picture, and one without, the first to either give a size perspective, and/or to show I was actually there, and another to allow the viewer a clearer perspective of the site.

The photo below is more purpose based, because it gives some perspective on the size of the object.

There's no mention of the tonnage of these three connected lions, but it is probably equal to or greater than the Hittite Fasillar monument/stele/obelisk, that is estimated to weigh around 70 tons, and which is thought to have been destined to be erected here at Eflatun Pinar.

A couple of things I hope the photo above can show, is first, the crystal clear water, and second, the volume of water that flows from the spring fed pool. Not only is this water potable directly from the pool, it is also icy cold.

The photo below was taken in 1887 by the American traveler, photographer, and archeologist John Henry Haynes. Noticeable to me, is that the three lion fountain sculpture appears in the middle left of the photo (and maybe laying face down), which is approximately where it stands today.

In John Henry Haynes' photo, the pool level is high, which obscures some of the sculptures at the bottom of the monument.

The Sun Goddess Arinniti (discussed previously), can also be seen on either side of the central fountain (pictured above and below).

As discussed above, there was great importance to the Hittites in showing thanks and gratitude toward this goddess, not to mention the other gods represented.

The central fountain facade is about equal in both length and height, both of which measure approximately 7 meters. With two winged sun-disks placed directly over the two central figures of the sculpted blocks, we're presented with the Storm God, and once again the Sun Goddess.

At the top of the facade is what appears to be giant winged sun-disk, which we may interpret as representing the heavens, while the base, with its five forest gods, may be representative of Earth.

As mentioned, at the base of the facade we are presented with five forest gods, all of whom are perched atop round bases that are decorated with leaf reliefs.

I would describe the leaf relief as Lotus leaves, because they look nothing like Acanthus. But, such fine detail and realism would have to wait another 900 years or so, for the arrival of classical Greek sculpture.

Of the five, three of the forest gods stand out (pictured above), as they are offering the nectar of life, water through their spouts.

The three mountain gods in the center are physically linked to the spring, and so may represent mountain spring gods.

In the photo above, this forest god on the outer side of the shrine does not have water spouts (like the one at the opposite side of the monument, pictured below), and does not produce any water.

So, the two outer mountain gods may be representative of the forest, the growth, and other various wilds of the natural surroundings.

As you can clearly see in the photo above, the fountain sculptures are still very much in working order, as the forest gods give the water of life eternally.

Again, I took the photo above later in the day, and though the sun is not casting the shadowy details of the sculpture, this flat image actually shares a lot (pictured above).

As mentioned above, the two outer mountain gods (one of which is pictured above and below), may be representative of the growth and the other various wilds of nature.

With the Storm God and Sun Goddess situated between the heavens (large winded sun disk) and Earth (forest gods), perhaps we are presented with benefactors, those who receive heavenly life, while then sharing it upon the Earthbound animal kingdom?

The facade of the fountain contains numerous sculpted figures, so I took some individual photos of some of them from the opposite side of the pool. I need to do more research to discern which characters are which.

Practicing a kind of animism, an eternal water source such as Eflatun Pinar would have been worshiped, and thanked, with priests and priestesses doing their part to keep the deity present at the site in order to preserve the gift, in this case water.

The figure pictured both above and below was photographed at different times of the day. Depending on the angle of the sun, the details can change drastically.

Losing the presence of a deity was a grave fear for the Hittites, who depended on such life preserving gifts from the gods. Therefore, offerings in the form of monumental sculptures or reliefs were dedicated to the gods in order to keep favor.

So, we can look at these offerings as shrines dedicated to the gods who occupy the site. The importance of Eflatun Pinar in particular is reflected in its size. The walls that surround the spring fed pool are approximately 34 meters in width by 30 meters in depth.

I am reluctant to call this fountain a monument, since it is a functional structure, though of monumental proportion. Its construction is believed to have taken place during the 13C BCE. However, since no inscriptions have as of yet been found or related to the site, we cannot be absolutely certain of the age of the fountain.

The facade of the fountain is very fascinating, but as you will see, the hidden back of the shrine has a lot to reveal. I slowly worked my way around to the pool to the back of the sculptured blocks to view its construction.

Along the way, some fragments of various animal sculptures that have been found at the bottom of the pool are on display atop the wall enclosing the sacred water source (pictured above and below).

As you can see in the photo below, the original ancient blocks are extremely interrupted by some hastily place new blocks, which bring the pool wall up to its original height, but in my opinion detract from the aesthetic.

At the back right corner of the pool (pictured in the top right corner of the photo above), ice cold spring water can be found gushing from the ground (pictured below).

Pictured below, the spring water is fed into a channel that delivers the sweet nectar to the sculptural shrine, which then in perfect form offers life to those that give thanks.

This fountain, like all ancient fountains was engineered to use gravity to feed the water spouts that arch the water into the pool.

Behind the fountain can be found a massive hunk of stone that appears to be a sculpted lion that is either incomplete or extremely weathered, as the details are very difficult to make out (pictured in the right of the photo above, and in the left behind the fountain in the photo below). It may in fact be unfinished.

As the day was moving along quickly, and my bicycle was not, it was definitely time to get into gear and clock some kilometers on route to my next ancient site, the Fasillar monument, which as mentioned above is a 70 ton monument that never arrived at Eflatun Pinar.

Pictured above, a photo of the rubble strewn area leading up to the pool wall across from the fountain. I would love to see a 3-D image of what Eflatun Pinar looked like just after.

Finally, one last snap of a rarely visited, yet spectacular ancient site that in my mind rivals Nemrut mountain, and that is a huge statement. This site is very special!