Marash lies one day’s journey northwards of Aintab: it is a considerable town placed at the descent from the Taurus on sloping ground well above the plain and 2500 feet above the sea. We have seen that it has played a considerable part in local history, as follows from its important position at the junction of several main routes; and to judge from the remains that have been found there, it must have been in earlier times one of the more important centres of the Hittites. As in the parallel cases of Aleppo and Hamath, probably the conical knoll to the west of the town, crowned by the remains of the mediæval and earlier fortifications, marks the original village ‘tell,’ which, like the mounds of Sakje-Geuzi, began to grow with the first settlements of Hittites upon the spot. Into an arched stone gateway on this acropolis there had been built two sculptured lions of Hittite workmanship, one of them, indeed, freely inscribed with Hittite characters. Originally the two lions had unquestionably guarded the entrance to a palatial building, forming the corner-pieces of the lowest course;[224] but in later times they had been poised aloft in the masonry as mere ornaments.[225] Though these are perhaps the most striking objects from this place, several other monuments are on record, the interest of which is enhanced by their variety of character and detail.[226] These include a slab sculptured with the representation of a Ceremonial Feast, similar to those of Kara-burshlu and Sinjerli, but with the addition of Hittite hieroglyphs upon the sculptured face. There is also the body of a small statue with a considerable part of the sculpture preserved, and a stela with carved figure and long incised inscription. Several other sculptures may be unhesitatingly included in the list, though without Hittite hieroglyphs upon them. One of these is a fragment showing a woman seated with a child on her knee, holding in her left hand a lyre upon which is perched a bird. Another is also broken, but the figure of a man serving at a table is preserved, and there is clear suggestion of a greater figure on the opposite side. Below, in an ill-drawn scene, a man holding a spear is represented leading a horse.[227] Recently a fine monumental piece has been added to the list, consisting of a cubical block of stone carved on the four sides, with inscription in this case as well as a human figure in relief. There are also various fragmentary inscriptions which have been longer known. There can be no doubt but that Marash was a royal seat of even greater importance than those at Sinjerli and Sakje-Geuzi. [Illustration: PLATE XLI AINTAB: INSCRIPTION UPON SCULPTURED GRANITE CORNER-STONE (_See p. 107._)]