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Archaeologists in Turkey have unearthed an ornately cut up 2,800 - yr - old elephant tusk in what may have once been an Iron Age " center of power . "
The ivory carve feature a mythologic sphinx — a human point on the body of a winged lion — as well as a portrayal of a real Panthera leo and two tall plant life that may represent the mythical " tree of living . " While the artwork date to the Iron Age , it was find in an archaeological layer over a much previous city — the derelict Bronze Age Hittite capital of Hattusa .
Archaeologists estimate that the carved piece of elephant’s tusk is about 2,800 years old.
According toAndreas Schachner , an archaeologist with the German Archaeological Institute who has led excavation at Hattusa since 2006 , the artifact render that the Iron Age closure at the web site was an important home , although it was set up after the Hittites had abandoned the city in about 1200 B.C. , during what ’s known as theLate Bronze Age collapse .
" It is possible to say that this place was no longer a little town but a more important position , perhaps a center of power , " Schachner told the Turkish state - ownedAnadolu Agency .
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The artifact was found in a soil layer from an Iron Age settlement, which sat on top of the Bronze Age Hittite city of Hattusa.
The artifact is about 12 inches ( 30 centimeter ) long and 4 inches ( 10 curium ) astray , and Schachner said it may have been part of a piece of article of furniture .
" It was belike tote up as an ornament to a wooden box or furniture made of wood in its own time , " he told the agency . " The oeuvre is broken on the right and left sides , and the upper and humble side are in our original form . Therefore , it is potential to infer that it was longer . "
Iron Age settlement
Schachner explain that the object was unique among find at the Iron Age colonisation built at the abandoned Hattusa web site , which is now beside the Turkish village of Boğazköy ( also import Boğazkale ) , about 90 mile ( 145 kilometers ) east of Ankara .
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The ivory is carved with depictions of a mythical sphinx and a lion, along with two tall plants that may represent the mythical “tree of life."
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" For the first time , we are faced with a work grace with such a slow , beautifully rendered scene , " he tell . " Extensive excavation have been carried out at the Iron Age degree at Boğazköy , but we had not get across such a detailed artifact before . "
He add that the symbol carved into the fragment might reveal relationship between the small town and other contemporaneous culture .
After scientific written report of the ivory carving are terminated , it will go on presentation at the Boğazköy Museum , Schachner said .
