Urartian column base from Kef Castle

This basalt relief is part of a column base from the ancient kingdom of Urartu and dates from the 7th century BC. It was found at Kef Castle near the town of Artske (Adilcevaz) in modern Turkey and is now displayed in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.

The relief shows two winged figures standing on lions, identified as the supreme Urartian god Khaldi, god of war and patron of royal power. Between them is a stylised tree of life, above them a row of stepped patterns resembling the walls of a city or temple, and at the top a cuneiform inscription in the Urartian language.