Kuşkayası (Turkish for Bird's rock) is a roadside monument just outside the town of Amasra, in Bartın Province, in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It was erected in the Roman Imperial age.
Location The landmark lies in a dense forest, situated to the south of the road connecting Amasra to Bartın at . At a distance of about from Amasra, it overlooks a part of the town as well as the Black Sea. The altitude of the monument is about above sea level. It can be reached by a staircase from the road.
History The Kuşkayası road monument is a unique structure in Turkey. It was built by Gaius Julius Aquila, procurator of Bithynia et Pontus, in honor of Roman Emperor Tiberius Claudius Germanicus (AD 41–54). The monument includes a statue of a now headless human figure, the Roman eagle (also headless) and a bilingual inscription, = ILS 5883 all carved into the mountain. The human figure may represent either the Emperor or the Governor. In the original monument there was also a fountain (which no longer exists).
Inscription The inscription is in Latin and Greek translations, which allow lacunae in one to be supplemented by the surviving text of the other.
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