Incised Drawings from Early Phrygian Gordion. Lynn E. Roller

range of poses, most frequently walking in right profile, and certain details, such as the open mouth, bared teeth, neck ruff, shoulder muscles, and curled claws, are depicted in very standard and repetitive patterns. Several of the depictions of birds also follow a repetitive pattern, a bird of prey in right profile with prominent beak and talons being the most common example. Others, however, suggest a keen eye for detail, and this is even more true of the less frequently depicted animals. This suggests that the lions and, to an extent, the birds of prey were depicted for their symbolic value, while other bird species and other animals reflect the artist’s observation of the world around him. Taken together, the drawings of animals offer a shifting perspective between recurring symbolism and observation of daily life.

      Depictions of architectural structures form another highly interesting subject. One architectural type that recurs in several drawings is an elevation of a tall building with a pitched roof. One block, 9a and 9b, now in two non-joining pieces, contains drawings of three such structures, and a smaller illustration of the same architectural type but with less detail appears in 46.45 In each case the drawing depicts the rectangular wall of a building; this is surmounted by a triangular pediment, indicating that we are looking at the short end of a building with the roof gable above. In one of the drawings (9a-right) a door is visible in the building’s end wall. In two cases (9a-left, 9b) the building is taller than it is wide, while in the other two drawings (9a-right, 46) the building’s façade is nearly square. These factors strongly suggest that the drawings depict the elevation of one end of a Phrygian megaron, such as those that comprise the most common building type in the Citadel complex, including Megaron 2 itself. These presumably had a pitched roof and a doorway in the short end of the building (for the plan of the standard Gordion megaron, see Fig. 3).⁴⁶

      Let us look at the three architectural elevations depicted on 9a and 9b in greater detail. These have usually been discussed together as a unit, but close examination of the drawings reveals that they differ from each other in several ways, indicating that the three drawings depict three separate structures. Reading from left to right, the building incised on the left side of 9a depicts a tall narrow structure with a steeply pitched roof forming a high gable supported by a central vertical beam in the pediment. Above the central point of the gable are lines in the shape of a crescent; this is likely to be an intentional decoration on the roof, although it is difficult to be certain whether the drawing depicts a separate decorative element such as an akroterion placed on the building’s roof or reproduces the visual effect of wooden rafters that continued above the ridgepole. Set into the center of the building’s wall is a rectangle; this is likely to indicate a window, since it is too high above the ground level to be a door. In the pediment are lines forming small rectangles, one to the left of the central beam and two to the right; these appear to illustrate a set of windows in the pediment. The lower left portion of the building wall overlaps a drawing of a bird of prey, shown in right profile. The incised lines forming the building are heavier than those of the bird; thus it seems likely that the bird was drawn first and the building was incised later over the bird.

      The center example also depicts the elevation of a building wall surmounted by the triangular end of a steeply pitched roof supported by a central vertical beam. Lines forming the side walls of the building continue beyond the top of the wall, although whether this reproduces an intentional construction feature or is just a product of sloppy drawing is uncertain.⁴⁷ The diagonal lines that outline the roof extend above the central ridgepole to form a V pattern; this is likely to be intentional, illustrating the extension of the sloping rafters above the ridgepole to create a decorative pattern on the roof. In the center of the building’s façade is a double door composed of two leaves, each made from a row of vertical beams bound together with two horizontal cross timbers. To the right of the double door is a small rectangle, probably a window, while over the door is a circle with small lines inside it, presumably a form of decoration placed on the building wall. The building’s wide double doors and its exterior decoration above the door suggest that it was an imposing structure of some importance.

      The third architectural elevation, on 9b, also shows the short end of a rectangular building with a gabled roof, but this drawing contains several unique features that set it apart from the other two. In this case the outline of the building’s roof is drawn with parallel double lines, and the double outline extends well above the roof gable in a curved-V with inverted arms. The intent of the drawing seems to be to illustrate a decorative frame for the gable ends. This may well reproduce a decorative feature of stone, such as a stone akroterion with wings that curve inward on the point of the gable, of which actual examples have been found at Gordion.⁴⁸ There is no door in the front of a building, but an animal with a raised tail, drawn in right profile, is visible within the outlines of the building’s front wall.⁴⁹ This is probably a lion, and here surely represents a type of decoration, either a relief sculpture or a painted drawing, placed on the building’s façade. Next to the lion can be seen crossed diagonal lines forming a lozenge pattern; these are very faint, but seem intended to illustrate some form of geometric ornament that would also have decorated the building’s front façade. The combination of lion and geometric pattern implies that this drawing represents the decorated front façade of an imposing public building. The lion on 9b is too small to offer the level of detail visible in the drawings of lions discussed earlier, but the striding pose and raised tail of the animal are similar to the incised stone drawings of lions and suggest that this lion was intended as a symbol of power, further reinforcing the imposing nature of the building’s appearance. Below the building is a series of horizontal parallel lines; these may represent stairs that led up to the building’s entrance.

      The building elevation illustrated in the far right of 46 is a simpler version of the previous three. In this drawing the short end of a building with a gabled roof is depicted; crossed lines extending above the point of the gable are likely to represent rafters extending above the ridgepole, on analogy with the building in 9a-right. There is a doorway in the middle of the building façade, but no other internal details are visible. Below the building is a single horizontal line bisected by a vertical line; this may indicate a step or courtyard in front of the building.

      In addition to the examples of the megaron elevation, another, completely different architectural form appears on 38. On the left side of this stone is a drawing of a structure with a rectangular face, the top and bottom of which are indicated by two parallel horizontal lines; in its center is a tall vertical member, topped by a pointed triangular form, perhaps intended to suggest a tower. On either side of the central vertical structure, a pair of diagonal lines extends from its midsection to the upper left and right corners of the rectangular face. The effect is to suggest an elevation of a structure composed of a wooden frame braced by diagonal supports, with a large central tower. This could be part of a wooden fortification wall, such as a stockade, or it could be a gate with two leaves, although it would be surprising to see a tower placed in the middle of a gate, which is one reason for preferring the interpretation of a stockade wall. Alternatively, if the drawing represents a gate, the actual tower would have been placed at the side of the gate, and the drawing intentionally distorts the perspective to make the tower appear more conspicuous. Below this is a series of parallel horizontal lines; these may represent a set of steps leading up to the wall/gate or a stone base supporting it.

      One further example provides further information about architecture at Gordion, a drawing on 8 that may replicate a section of a decorated standing wall. This stone is heavily incised with multiple scenes, but at the upper left corner is a form that appears to depict a wall made of two parallel faces of ashlar masonry, similar to the construction of Megaron 2 itself. One of these faces is decorated with a hooked meander pattern, perhaps alluding to decoration that was placed on the walls of buildings in the Early Phrygian Citadel.

      Geometric patterns form another subject that recurs regularly among the Gordion incised drawings. These can range from fairly simple motifs such as straight and zigzag lines, squares and rectangles, the five-pointed star, and hand- and compass-drawn circles, to more complex and intricate patterns and forms. As in the