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An unfinished sphinx in basalt. Sphinxes were creatures that had the body of a crouching lion and the head of a human. This one seems to have the head of a female and thus is from the Neo-Hittite Period
The thirty roughed-out protomes of sphinxes found in Yesemek sculpture workshop are carved on narrow blocks. Sphinxes stood in building entrances or gateways and had a protective function. Notice all of the unfinished objects that are nearby.
The sphinx originated in Egypt, where it was generally a masculine creature with a lion's body and a human head. Hittite sphinxes of the second millennium B.C. usually had the head of a female with their hair falling over the breasts and curling outward at the ends. Sphinxes with curling hair are of the "Hathor" type, deriving probably from Palestine or Syria. The Yesemek sculpture workshop must have played an important role in the transmission of the sphinx to the Neo-Hittites.
It was the largest known stonemasonry workshop in the ancient Near East. Over 300 partially finished blocks are scattered throughout the site, which is today an archaeological park.
