Rock reliefs form a large part of the extant artistic remains of the Anatolian Hittite Empire ( 14th century BC). The reliefs that survive are often located near roads, and in mountainous terrain (over 1000 meters elevation) overlooking plains. They are often near sites with sacred significance both before and after the Hittite period, such as sacred springs, "linking the [Hittite] state's official discourse with the divine beings of [those] places" (Harmanşah 2014).
At Yazılıkaya, just outside the capital of Hattusa, a series of reliefs of Hittite gods in procession decorate open-air "chambers" made by adding barriers among the natural rock formations. The site was apparently a sanctuary, and possibly a burial site, for the commemoration of the ruling dynasty's ancestors.
Ancient references
Herodotus, in the Histories (written 430 BC), describes the Karabel relief, which he attributes to the legendary Egyptian pharaoh Sesostris: