A beardless king is offering libation to a god standing on a bull (Parata?). Behind the king an attendant is holding a male goat, possibly also as an offering. In front of the king: an inscription in hieroglyphic Luwian.
The limestone relief is a part of the Lion Gate at Milid / Arslantepe (7 km northeast of modern Malatya).
Neo-Hittite sculpture in traditional style, 1050-850 BC.
Luwian is an ancient language or group of languages of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The two varieties of Luwian are named for the scripts that they were written in: Cuneiform Luwian (CLuwian) and Hieroglyphic Luwian (HLuwian). As to whether these were one language or two, there is no consensus. Luwian is closely related to Hittite.
Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen
Sources: ‘Inscriptions of the Iron Age’ (J.D.Hawkins), Website of ‘hittitemonuments.com’ & Wikipedia.