We have departed from the strict lines laid down at the outset of our inquiry in including this object, which is uninscribed, and bears no direct evidence of date upon it. We do so because we claim it with some confidence as Hittite work. Eagles, in relief and in the round, and lions, are familiar emblems in Hittite religious art, and they are found in association at Boghaz-Keui;[351] indeed, at this place, which we may believe to have been the religious centre for the whole Halys basin, a cult of the eagle seems to have been perpetuated in Hittite times.[352] Hence, though the character and composition of the monument are unique, the emblems which it comprises are familiar subjects in Hittite art, and appropriate to the locality. As to its meaning, however, we can hazard no opinion; its position near the valley of the river suggests a possible relationship, and we know[353] that rivers were sacred to some Hittite tribes. Leaving now the valley of the Halys, it is a singular fact that there is no permanent trace of Hittite presence on record within the broad circuit which that river encloses, except the ruins of the capital at Boghaz-Keui and of the neighbouring palace at Eyuk. At the former place there is one monument called _Nishan Tash_, which claims mention independently of the buildings and sculptures to which we devote a special chapter, inasmuch as it is a rock-carving unlike anything else on the acropolis where it is found. It lies between the two fortresses of Beuyuk and Yenije Kaleh, where the surface of a rock facing to the south has been smoothed for a space about twenty feet by ten, and carved with a design or inscription arranged in ten separate lines. It is generally thought that this is an inscription in Hittite hieroglyphs, and probably that is correct; but owing to its extremely weathered state, we do not believe it possible now to recognise the signs with any certainty, though one traveller claims to have deciphered four lines in comparatively recent years. The rock lies back at a considerable angle, and is thus entirely exposed to rain and frost. At the present time the carving simulates a series of animal forms, arranged in pairs facing one another, and (in the second row) of winged creatures placed singly and separated by dividing lines from one another. In the ninth row there is a suggestion of bulls facing one another in pairs, with lowered heads. Doubtless this is illusion,[354] but it shows the unfortunate impossibility of recovering the original inscription with any reliability.